Houston ISD's plans for Yates High School met with criticism
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A community meeting aimed at discussing plans for a new Jack Yates High School turned heated with HISD administrators getting an earful.
"Tonight's meeting is about a new Yates High School," announced Dan Bankhead, HISD's general manager of facility design, at the start of the meeting.
The summary seemed simple enough, but then microphone soon opened up and administrators heard how parents and alumni really felt about the plan to build the new Yates.
"It ain't this school that needs to be built. It's that school that doesn't need to be built at all," yelled one alumnus as he pointed at a rendering on a big screen.
HISD says the rendering presented at Tuesday night's meeting was just supposed to show the community where the front of the school will be and not how it will look. Right now the plan is to have the front door on Alabama. Folks are concerned about a so-called warehouse school, but HISD says the $59 million building hasn't even been designed. They were admittedly unprepared for all the heated feedback.
"What we will do, what we have to do is jot it down and get the answers to the right people," explained Shaleah Reed, HISD Spokeswoman.
People fear $30 million that was once budgeted for a new Yates has been taken away, matching the programs and the students, they say, they've lost too.
"What parent is going to send their child to a school that doesn't have good academic programs, good trade programs or things that are going to help them in their future?" questioned alumnus Larry McKinzie.
Before the meeting, parents rallied to grab the district's attention.
"As a Yates Community we deserve to be listened to, our ideas are important," said National Chairman of the National Black United Front Kofi Taharka.
HISD says there will be more community meetings scheduled as design phase continues. Construction is supposed to be completed for the 2017-2018 school year.
