Are HISD’s campuses being utilized proportionately?
As an education reporter, I closely followed Houston ISD’s two bond propositions, one which asked for $3.96 billion for infrastructure and the other for $440 million to update technology, prior to the Nov. 5 election last year. Following the failure of the bond, which totaled $4.4 billion to reconstruct around 10% of HISD’s campuses, the school district is now dealing with scrutiny over how it uses its campuses.
A new study by Rice University’s Baker Institute analyzed HISD’s 2024-25 enrollment data, which reveals disparities in campus utilization, with some campuses being underutilized.
While HISD’s current enrollment stands at 176,731, the building capacity for HISD campuses is 212,493, resulting in a district-wide campus utilization rate of 77%. Additionally, 16,150 seats are available in temporary buildings spread over 89 campuses. The total utilization rate, including temporary buildings, is 72%.
Of the 255 campuses that the study analyzed, 81 had an enrollment of more than 50% but were operating at under 75% of their permanent building capacity, while 51 operated below 50% enrollment.
The study also cited research that found a correlation between schools with low enrollment and chronic low performance. The numbers dive into current utilization trends, national comparisons and the hard choices HISD may face in the coming years.
In the upcoming HISD board meeting, the members will be discussing “turnaround plans” for some schools. It will be interesting to see how the discussion goes and if the possibility of school closures looms over these campuses.
Get ready, Houston, for some upcoming decisions that may hurt because HISD is yet to come up with an alternative.
Books taken off the shelf at the Naval Academy Library
Books and libraries are as relevant as ever.
The U.S. Naval Academy is currently under scrutiny for removing more than 300 books off its shelves. The institution’s Nimitz Library is now reportedly missing works exploring race, gender and national identity.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Maya Angelou’s 1970 memoir on her struggles with racism, can no longer be found at the library, but two copies of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” are still there, reported the New York Times. Other books like “The Bell Curve,” which says Black people are genetically less intelligent than white people, are there, but a critique of the book is gone.
Academics have spoken out against this action, raising concerns about the impact of this move on higher education and the larger discussion on the First Amendment. Many find it concerning for many that history is repeating itself from the days of the destruction of books.
Social media promotes cheaper luxury bags amid tariffs
Social media is crazy sometimes. Retaliating against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, some China residents decided to jump on the opportunity by sharing videos on multiple platforms to promote the direct sales of luxury goods from Chinese manufacturers to consumers at significantly lower prices.
These products include handbags, clothes and cosmetics. In one video that has almost 10 million views, a creator claimed to sell yoga pants from the same manufacturer as Lululemon at $5-$6. Another clip showed a man on a factory floor claiming to source Louis Vuitton handbags directly from Chinese manufacturers, offering them at prices as low as $50. In contrast, another showed Birkin bags at $100. Basically, they’re saying that designers all over the world buy from them, slap a label on it, then sell to us at astronomical markups. Now, I don’t know if they’re telling the truth or trying to play in our faces, but it seems to be working as millions were snatching up deals.
