HISD Trustees are members of our local school board.  Trustee elections take place during odd years.  This year, six out of nine board members are up for election on November 7, 2017.  Trustees are responsible for managing HISD’s school budget and setting policy during staggered four year terms.

There is a connection between conservation of our environmental resources and the election of trustees.

First, where schools are built is a land use issue. Placing schools adjacent to highways and petrochemical industry places children in harm’s way. Children are growing and developing and breathe more than adults, so they are vulnerable to air pollutants from heavy traffic and emission events from industry.

Second, are schools well lit? Are they properly ventilated to prevent mold and indoor air pollutants?  Do schools routinely test for safe drinking water, making sure heavy metals like lead and chromium VI are absent?  Do schools provide recess outdoors away from heavy traffic and industrial emissions?

Third, many of our children in HISD qualify for free or reduced lunch.  Do these children consume fresh, local foods or given processed salty, sugary, or fatty foods?

Fourth, are children learning about anthropogenic climate change? Moreover, are we teaching our children that paving almost every inch of the Prairie contributes to more flooding?

These are questions you may consider asking candidates for HISD Trustee. Where do they stand on these issues?  Having a safe, clean and unpolluted environment may help children learn.  Children who miss school because of asthma attacks fall behind. 

Furthermore, what kind of a message is society sending to our children?  Are we telling our children that is acceptable to place schools next to highways, to poorly ventilate buildings, to consume processed foods, and to be ignorant or misled about the reasons and solutions for our changing climate?

Find out who is your Trustee Representative.  Visit http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/7897/Board_districts_1516.pdf. Find your district on the map and get involved.