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It takes courage to take on HISD; Those filing suit merit our community's thanks
It seems remarkable that politicos would take such a stand. When was the last time you saw a politico applaud local activism against a public institution?
by State Rep. Sylvester Turner and U. S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Houston has some new heroes who should be honored.
Those heroes are the parents of three families who filed a federal lawsuit against the Houston Independent School District Dec. 14 on behalf of their children and many other children in HISD. All the parents named in the lawsuit have children attending Key Middle School, and many other parents throughout the district are seeking to be named plaintiffs as well.
These parents are alleging that HISD has discriminated against minority and low-income students for years by providing them inadequate schools, libraries, facilities such as science labs and instructional programs. This has led to falling populations in minority neighborhood schools as parents send their children to other, better schools outside their community. The situation with Key Middle School is only the latest and most egregious example.
Key was closed reluctantly this fall by HISD only after officials from the Centers for Disease Control inspected the facility and found toxic mold that may have been the reason for teachers and students becoming ill. We are sure HISD officials were also worried about the impact of negative media coverage on their $805 million bond referendum in November's election. Key students are now bused each day to Fleming Middle School, with the kids waiting outside in the elements at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. for the buses to pick them up. HISD did not provide any shelter for them until the morning of Dec. 17, the coldest morning of the school year so far. Coincidentally, that was the day the plaintiffs, along with their supporters, held a press conference nearby to announce the filing of the federal lawsuit.
And how is this affecting the children of Key? They are being short-changed educationally. Books are in short supply, the science labs have been reduced from eight to one, the students' preparation for state mandated tests has been nearly impossible and many of the children have lost their zeal and enthusiasm for attending school. As a result, the number of children attending Key has dropped by nearly 100 and parents and teachers are very concerned about the level of academic readiness of their children.
Parents were already complaining about Key Middle School before the mold chased everyone out. The school is more than 50 years old, it was flooded in a storm several years ago and it's closed now because of contamination. Instead of taking bond proceeds and building a new school, HISD plans to patch it up again and return the children and teachers to the same structure in the spring.
That is unacceptable, and it is unlikely you will find parents anywhere in the district who would not resist returning their kids to the same structure in view of the circumstances. Why should these parents at Key be willing to expose their children to these conditions?
Congratulations to these parents standing up for their children.
Other schools have similar problems. Ryan Middle School is more than 80 years old. Its library is practically nonexistent. Hundreds of children transfer away from this neighborhood school because of inadequate instructional programs, facilities and equipment. In the bond proposal, Ryan is receiving some money for renovations, although it was initially on the list to be closed. What is slated to be spent on Ryan will patch it for now but it will only be a temporary fix. Jackson Middle School, built in 1928, will also receive only a temporary fix. And remember that bond funds are used only for construction; there are no additional dollars for books or equipment.
The Key parents don't want to be like many parents living in minority areas, particularly African- American neighborhoods, who are forced to bus or transport their children past their neighborhood schools in search of better instructional/academic programs, facilities, libraries, equipment for science labs, etc. These neighborhood schools are losing population, not because families are moving out, but because parents are transferring their children away from these schools as the district's policies and practices direct the programs and resources away from them.
Without question, the state of Texas has an obligation to provide funding to the school districts and should do more. But that does not absolve the local school district from distributing those dollars received by them equitably. HISD should be held accountable for how it safeguards the interests of the children at Key Middle School, Ryan Middle School, Jack Yates High School and Booker T. Washington High School, just to name a few.
The parents in this lawsuit recognize that HISD is a majority/minority school district and that the bond funds will be benefiting minority students in many schools. But they also see that HISD is arbitrarily closing and consolidating schools; that it builds one new school but closes two or three others; that the district is starving some neighborhood schools of instructional programs, books and equipment, enticing parents to abandon the schools closest to them and then shutting down those schools for lack of student population; that HISD's policies are literally transforming minority neighborhoods. It is quite logical for these parents to conclude that these bond proceeds — along with the existing policies — are not in their children's and their communities' best interest.
That same assessment was made in the 1960s by a few other brave Houstonians
Hattie Mae White, Asberry Butler and Gertrude Barnstone all were HISD Board members when they courageous-ly sued the HISD Board to stop construction of new schools because they thought it would perpetuate segregation. In a letter to the editor published in the Houston Chronicle on Dec. 20, Barnstone courageously wrote, "I wish the best of luck to the plaintiffs in the suit against the Houston Independent School District."
Parents are constantly criticized for not being involved in the lives and education of their children. These parents are standing up for their children and their neighborhoods, participating in the democratic process and utilizing our judicial system to reverse policies that harm their children. Even if there are those who disagree with them, they deserve our respect. People are often criticized for challenging the status quo but where would we be without the courage of the parents of the Little Rock Nine or the plaintiffs of Brown v. Board of Education or Sweatt v. University of Texas? For those who are the beneficiaries of the bravery and tenacity of all these plaintiffs, a debt of gratitude is owed to them for not backing down in the face of criticism. That's why these parents are our new heroes.
Turner represents district 139 and serves as speaker pro tem of the Texas House. Jackson Lee represents the 18th congressional district and is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.
— State Rep. Sylvester Turner and U. S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Houston Chronicle
2007-12-29
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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