HOUSTON – October 24, 2024 – Several of Houston’s leading civic organizations issued a public letter Thursday, encouraging Houston residents to vote for Houston ISD’s Proposition A and Proposition B in the Nov. 5 election. The $4.4 billion bond would remove lead from Houston schools, upgrade security, improve HVAC units, expand pre-K programs, and build three new career and technical education centers and make technology upgrades without raising taxes.

“If we are truly committed to investing in the future of our children, then we must also be prepared to invest in their schools,” Good Reason Houston CEO Cary Wright said. “These kids can’t vote so they’re counting on us to cast a vote for safe, healthy, world-class learning environments. Our children need access to these facilities now—not five years from now, not 10 years from now.”

BakerRipley, Greater Houston Partnership, Children at Risk, Houstonians for Great Public Schools, Ed Trust, and Houston Region Business Coalition also signed the letter of support. In the letter, the organizations emphasized that HISD has not asked voters to approve a school for elementary and middle schools since 2007, nearly 20 years ago, and the students, teachers, and staff are feeling the effects of that neglect everyday.

Reports of failing infrastructure—such as air conditioning breakdowns during extreme heat and non-functioning heaters in winter—have become all too common. Alarmingly, about a third of HISD campuses, around 82 schools, have tested positive for elevated lead levels in their water, forcing the district to cap fixtures and necessitating urgent action to provide safe drinking sources.

“Ultimately, we’ve seen the cost of waiting in the decade since our last bond and further delay only serves to increase future expenses for upgrades and renovation,” the letter states. “More importantly, delay continues to keep students and teachers in unhealthy and unsafe conditions when we have the means to provide them with better.”