Q&A: Two Houston ISD mothers explain why they’re on opposite sides of $4.4 billion bond

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City versus suburbs. Shipley Do-Nuts versus Kolache Factory. Lone Star versus Shiner Bock.

Countless debates divide Houstonians. And in recent months, a new wedge issue has emerged: how to vote on Houston ISD's $4.4 billion school bond.

One side argues HISD's aging schools can't wait any longer for money to fix structural issues like leaky roofs or contaminated water. Most large districts pass bonds roughly every five years, but HISD hasn't held a bond election since 2012.

The other says they can't trust HISD's state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, to responsibly manage billions of dollars. The Texas Education Agency appointed Miles and a new school board as part of a largely unpopular takeover of HISD in June 2023.

HISD parents Maricela Flores and Patrece Wright fall on opposite sides of the issue. Flores, who has a daughter in kindergarten at Briscoe Elementary School and lives in the Greater East End, supports the bond. Wright, who lives in Third Ward and moved her third grade son from Blackshear Elementary School to The Rice School/La Escuela Rice this year, opposes it.

The Houston Landing spoke to both mothers to understand their positions. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Maricela Flores This bond, it has divided some voters in HISD. What's your opinion on it and what's the key factor behind how you stand?

Briscoe Elementary is one of the schools that I feel needs the funding, 1,000 percent. I know that they have low enrollment rates. Even me, I wanted to take my daughter out because I can see the building is deteriorating. I have a lot of safety concerns because I can see that there's mold on the walls, there's lead in the water, the hallways are really, really dark so it looks like a prison.

Even the principal was like, "This building is so old that we can't have the same security measures as other schools, because of the doors, because of how old the building is." ... They haven't had renovations in a long time. Honestly, I think the 1980s was the last renovation from what I heard. I don't understand why there's no money for this school.

Also, my daughter has to take water every single day to school. They're required to take water. They can't get water there, clean water. We as parents have to provide water to our child. That's insane to me.

Under the bond proposal, Briscoe (Elementary) would get about $79 million for a rebuild, expansion and some upgrades. What impact do you think that could make on the campus?

Definitely, I feel like it can make a great impact. Right now, they have a low enrollment rate. The principal was like, "Hey, you guys know anybody (who wants to enroll their kids)?" Yeah, we know people, but nobody wants to put their child there. Because, like I said, there's a lot of safety concerns and health concerns and things like that.

I think that it would have a great impact in our area, and more students would go, especially minorities. We're mainly Hispanic people, we're trying to get more opportunities and trying to get our children educated. It sucks to say that we have to go out of our neighborhood for us to have a school that's going to care about their safety, that's going to care about their education.

There's a lot of parents who agree with you that many schools in HISD are overdue for facility upgrades, but say they oppose the bond because they can't trust Superintendent Miles to responsibly spend that much money. What do you think of that perspective and do you have any doubts about Miles?

Honestly, I don't want to comment on that. I think, if I had a choice between doing something for the safety of my child and not doing anything at all, then I'm going to choose to do something. That's how I see that. Because it's like, are we going to do something or are we not going to do anything at all? So if we don't get this bond, it's like, OK, does that mean we're not doing anything at all? We're just going to let it be? No, I'd rather do something about it.

I feel like, if anything, the administration or somebody needs to do something about the way the spending is ... monitored. Being able to say, "Hey, we need proof of what you're doing to the schools, or how the money is being spent." There has to be some sort of accountability.

What are you hearing from other parents and folks you know in the neighborhood about whether they plan to support the HISD bond?

They are planning on supporting the bond because they're as frustrated as I am. Nobody wants to go and take their child 20 miles away from where they live to go to school just to get a proper education or for them to have proper drinking water. ... So, I think that parents are going to vote for it. We just want these renovations done. We just want our kids to be safe and, honestly, that's our main concern.

Patrece Wright This bond really has divided voters in HISD. Can you tell us what's your opinion on it and what's the key factor motivating your stance?

I am definitely against it and there are a couple of factors. Number one, we can't trust the leadership. So if I can't get trust behind the leadership in HISD, then I cannot, in good rule, vote for that.

Then also, it's kind of like they are (being) misleading with the bond, because using words like "co-location" instead of "closure" makes a big difference. When they say the word "co-location," right, I feel like it's giving the idea that we're combining two schools in one location. They are trying not to say the word "closure," although the schools that are co-locating, that (old) building will no longer be used as a school, so technically, it does become a closure.

(HISD has said co-located schools will move from their buildings to nearby or joined campuses, potentially sharing facilities like cafeterias or athletic grounds. They will largely maintain separate staff, such as principals and teachers.)

Are there components of the bond that stand out to you as misguided or irresponsible spending? Or is it more of an overall leadership question?

I think it's both. For example, the bad spending, Blackshear (Elementary) is allocated to receive $8.4 million. However, it's a school that is being co-located. So why are we putting money into the school? The kids are no longer going to go there. We're putting money into the building now for it to just sit there so we can run away like Dodson Elementary (School) did when they closed that school? It merged with Blackshear (Elementary), and yet the building still sits there.

And again, with the leadership issue, there's no trust in the leadership that HISD has right now.

Usually, the best practice for large, urban school districts like HISD would be to pass a bond roughly every five years. But it's been 12 since HISD has done that. We've heard from parents and principals that there are some pretty major structural issues at some schools, like leaky roofs or heating and (air conditioning) that don't work well. Folks who support the bond say HISD students can't wait any longer for upgrades, regardless of who's in charge. How would you respond?

I agree that there are some structural issues. A lot of our schools, I think they need to be upgraded. Maybe they should amend the bond as far as the amount of money that's being allocated and where it's being allocated to.

So, it's not that we don't need a bond, right? Because our schools still need to be fixed. But it's that, do we need $4.4 billion? And do you need to be allocating money to schools that you plan to close?

Say this bond doesn't pass, voters shoot it down. On what timeline would you like to see HISD propose another bond?

I would be fine with them amending the bond and maybe proposing that amendment within the next year or so. Because, again, a lot of the facilities do need upgrades. However, there are a lot of amendments that need to happen at the same time, too.

Asher Lehrer-Small covers Houston ISD for the Landing. Find him on Instagram and on X, or reach him directly at Related