Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
A poll commissioned by a Texas teachers union critical of Houston ISD’s state-appointed leadership shows that a majority of likely voters do not support the district’s $4.4 billion bond proposal.
The results differ from a poll released last week by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which found that about 75 percent of district residents would support a bond that does not significantly increase property taxes.
The largest school bond proposal in Texas history and the first for HISD since 2012 would not come with a property tax increase, district officials said. But the language of the proposal, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 5, states, as required by state law, “This is a property tax increase.”
The ballot text was presented to respondents in the poll by Z to A Research, a polling firm commissioned by the Texas American Federation of Teachers. It found that 53% of likely voters do not support the proposal as it stands.
The words on the ballot were not part of the poll conducted by the Kinder Institute, which compiled its results before the HISD Board of Regents voted Aug. 8 to put the fate of the bond package in the hands of Houston voters.
“I just can’t take seriously a public poll that doesn’t try to use the terms that are clearly spelled out on the ballot, which are that this is a property tax increase and that it’s going to cost $4.4 billion,” said Z to A Research founder Nancy Zdunkewicz. “That’s what our poll asked.”
HISD is seeking bond approval to rebuild and renovate old campuses, make safety and technology improvements, and expand its preschool and vocational education programs. Proposition A on the November ballot calls for $3.96 billion for building improvements and safety infrastructure, while Proposition B calls for $440 million for technology improvements.
The Kinder Institute survey was conducted by more than 1,900 people who live within HISD boundaries. They are part of the institute’s Greater Houston Community Panel, a cohort of about 7,500 Harris County residents who are surveyed four times a year on topics such as financial stability, parks and public safety.
For its survey, Z to A Research interviewed 736 likely voters in HISD. Respondents were contacted via text message and targeted online advertising, according to the company.
The latter poll found that 66% of likely voters oppose state intervention in HISD, which began in June 2023 after Wheatley High School received a series of failing grades from the Texas Education Agency. Principal Mike Miles and a board of trustees were installed to replace the district’s nine elected trustees.
Z to A Research also found that 77% of respondents do not trust Miles to manage HISD’s funds, a sentiment shared by the Houston Federation of Teachers, which is affiliated with the statewide union and represents about 6,000 educators in HISD.
“Mike Miles and his state-appointed board have been a disaster for Houston ISD,” said Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, in a press release about the survey results. “Houston families cannot afford this investment until we have stable, trustworthy and accountable elected leaders leading the district again.”
