Barbers Hill school board to discuss getting rid of paddling

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Tonight, the Barbers Hill school board will discuss getting rid of corporal punishment after a boy was brutally paddled.

Christina Douty says she gave permission for teachers at Barbers Hill Middle School to administer corporal punishment to her son. But when he came home with welts on his rear for making bad grades, she changed her mind.

She now says corporal punishment should be abolished statewide. The school district says district policies were followed in Douty's case.

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30pm.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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HISD board to vote on teacher raises

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Today the Houston ISD school board will vote on teacher raises.

The district has proposed a two percent raise for all teachers as part of its school budget. Principals, central office staff, bus drivers and food service employees would also get pay bumps. The raises would total $20 million, and some of that would be paid for by dipping into the district's savings.

The total budget for the next school year is one and a half billion dollars.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Four shots fired at HISD bus with kids on board

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- HISD and Crime Stoppers are hoping a short video clip will help catch a criminal. The video shows what happened inside a school bus full of students when someone started shooting at it.

It happened last month on the frontage road of Highway 59 at Fondren Road in southwest Houston.

Investigators are hoping the public can help identify the shooter. A bullet struck near one of the windows on the bus. The close call left students and parents shaken.

It was a bus ride home Kirkland Jacobs won't forget.

"They were just shooting at us," Jacobs said.

"What was your reaction?" we asked.

"To duck."

Investigators are now releasing video from the bus of what happened with the hopes of catching the person responsible.

"It was kind of scary," Jacobs said.

HISD says the bus left Beechnut Academy with about 26 students on board on March 27. District police say some students on the bus flashed gang signs at someone walking on the street. That person then pulled a gun and fired at the bus on the Southwest Freeway Feeder near Bellaire.

Shavonne Hopper was trying to find her son that day.

"It's sad that children, because it was a group of teenagers right, are walking around like this is the wild, wild west ready to shoot at innocent buses," she said.

She called different bus barns after learning the bus had been involved in some type of incident.

"I'm so grateful that nothing happened to him," Hopper said.

One student had minor cuts from broken glass from a shattered window. The close call left many of the students shaken.

"All I hope is they catch whoever did it and why would you shoot at us if we are already in alternative school?" Beechnut Academy sophomore Michelle Rhodes said. "Maybe if the kids would have been sitting down and doing what they were supposed to, none of that would have happened. If I'd lose my life, my mom would have been crying hard -- anybody could have lost their life but I thank God we didn't."

If you have any information on the bus shooting you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and claim up to $5,000 in reward money.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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HISD board resume discussions on budget, school closures

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The HISD board is meeting this morning for another round of budget talks.

Trustees will discuss next year's budget along with a redistricting project based on the results of the 2010 census. They'll also review the latest recommendations for closing and consolidating low-enrollment schools to help the district close a budget gap.

A final vote on school closures is set for May 12th.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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HISD board to discuss plans to close 17 campuses

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Budget cuts in the state's largest school district means some schools may be shutting down. HISD has a big budget shortfall to account for. It's already discussed laying off teachers and today, it will consider a plan to shut down or merge 17 schools.

Initially, HISD said Love, Grimes, McDade, and Rhoads elementaries were at risk of closing down. But now that list has increased to 17 schools across the city. They include both elementary and middle schools. With current budget cuts, the schools may not be able to stay afloat.

Memorial Elementary is one of those schools. A lot of parents don't like the idea, but he superintendent says it has to be considered to meet the budget shortfall.

"I don't believe they should shut down," said concerned grandparent Kathy Howard. "I think there are plenty of children to keep it running. It would just be devastating. These kids have gone here forever."

"If you take two small schools and merge them together, you may end up saving around $600,000 and we need to save $63 million," said HISD Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier.

Just this week, HISD announced their latest numbers for teacher layoffs. Budget cuts mean 567 teacher positions so far have been eliminated. Add to that 163 teachers not renewed because of performance and the number is up to 730 teachers gone starting next year.

Another option for the school district would be raising its tax rate.

If HISD closed every one of those schools, it would save about $10 million, nowhere near what is needed to cover the $63 million budget gap.

HISD's board of trustees can raise property tax up to 7 cents per $100 valuation without voter approval. Each 1-cent raise in tax would equal approximately $9.9 million in revenue. However, the possibility of raising tax is on not any agenda for vote. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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