Lynn Walsh

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Video: Houston ISD officials discuss how to fund $28 million summer school program
Tue Apr 6 18:25:00 2010 CST
By Lynn Walsh

Budget officials at Houston ISD are working to find millions of dollars to fund districtwide summer school programs.

Summer school costs for the Houston Independent School District cost around $28 million a year, HISD Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett said.

A majority of the funding for the summer academic programs comes from Title I funds, federal funding aimed at boosting achievement among poor students. Title I funds are redirected to school districts from the state of Texas.

But this year, HISD is only expecting $100,000 in Title I funds from the state, Garrett said. Traditionally HISD received $10 million to $12 million.

Why the drastic difference? Garrett said she wasn’t sure during a Monday meeting with school trustees.

“Between now and Thursday we will have to find out some information” from state education officials, Garrett said.

The 2010 summer school budget is on the on the agenda for Thursday’s board meeting. The school district’s overall budget in the 2010 fiscal year is $1.5 billion, and trustees are set to vote on next year’s budget in June.

Garrett said she is contacting the Texas Education Agency office to find out why the funding has been reduced this year.

“We will have to modify the budget if we can’t find the $20 some million,” Deputy Chief Academic Officer Charles Morris said.