Many H-Town Races Going To Runoffs

No thanks to a last minute jacked up ruling from the Republican Texas Secretary of State Ruth R Hughs, the election results in Harris County and our Houston municipal election were delayed until well after midnight.

Mayor Sylvester Turner was comfortably ahead for most of the night, but unfortunately will be in a runoff against Trumper Tony 'I Don't Need To Be Mayor' Buzbee.

Mayor Turner released a statement early this morning once the runoff was assured.

"To those who voted for me, thank you. To those who did not, I will work hard to earn your votes 

"The good news about this runoff is that Houstonians have a very simple and very clear choice for mayor: An experienced leader who has been delivering for Houston for more than 30 years? Or a Donald Trump imitator who has no experience, no ideas and will say anything, do anything or spend anything to get elected? 

"I trust Houstonians to make the right decision for our city.

Controller Chris Brown won reelection to a second term, beating Orlando Sanchez.

In the City Council races, incumbent councilmembers Dave Martin (District E), Greg Travis (District G), Robert Gallegos (District I) and Martha Castex Tatum (District K) .

Castex Tatum won election for a full four year term of her own after succeeding the late councilmember Larry Green in May 2018 and finishing the remaining time on his term..

In an interesting development, all five of the at large council seats are going to runoffs.

At Large 1 incumbent Mike Knox will face Raj Salhotra. 
At Large 2 incumbent David Robinson will face off against HERO hating pastor Willie Davis. 
At Large 3 incumbent Michael Kubosh, who voted against HERO, will be challenged by Janaeya Carmouche. 
At Large 4 Anthony Dolcefino will square off against Dr Letitia Plummer for the seat being vacated by CM Amanda Edwards, who is running for the US Senate. 
At Large 5, Sallie Alcorn will battle Eric Dick for the seat being vacated by Jack Christie .

These Houston City Council district races are going to runoffs.

District A, Amy Peck will take on George Zoes in the battle to replace term limited councilmember Brenda Stardig. 
District B will feature a runoff contest between Tarsha Jackson and Cynthia Bailey 
District C will feature the expected runoff between Abbie Kaman and Shelley Kennedy
District D in a shocker, will have Carolyn Evans-Shabazz taking on Brad 'Scarface' Jordan from the rap group the Geto Boys to determine who replaces Dwight Boykins, who decided to run for mayor..
District F, Tiffany Thomas will face Van Huynh to replace incumbent Steve Le, who decided not to run for reelection. 
District H  incumbent Karla Cisneros will face Isabel Longoria, 
District J Sandra Rodriguez will face Edward Pollard

In the HCCS races, in District I Monica Flores Richart fell just short of winning the seat outright, and will face longtime homophobe and transphobe Dave Wilson.

In HCCS District II- Rhonda Skillern Jones will face Kathy Lynch-Gunter 

In the HISD races, incumbents Sergio Lira (Position 3) and Board president Diana Davila (Position 8) were ousted by their challengers Dani Hernandez and Judith Cruz   

Position 2 will be decided in a runoff between Kathy Bluefield Daniels and John Curtis Gibbs.
Position 4 will be decided in a runoff between Patricia Allen and Matt Barnes.   Patrica is the daughter of TX state Rep Alma Allen and sister of SBOE member Lawrence Allen 

But will it be enough to preempt a threatened state takeover of HISD?

In HD 148, the battle to replace retiring state rep Jessica Farrar will be between Democrat Anna Eastman and Republican Luis La Rotta

Down in Fort Bend County, in a closely watched special election race in HD 28,  Eliz Markowitz and perennial candidate Gary Gates will face off to determine who will replace the retired John Zerwas.

It is one of the nine seats Texas Democrats must flip in order to seize control of the Texas house for the first time since 2002   Markowitz was the lone Democrat running against five republicans for this seat.  and led for much of the night .

We'll see if she can capture the seat in a Fort Bend County that is turning purple.

Handle Your 2017 Election Business Tomorrow

If you missed your opportunity to early vote, don't get upset because Election Day is tomorrow..

You'll just have to handle your election business at your usual precincts instead of the early voting locations that were open until November 3.

Polls will be open from 7 AM-7 PM CST.

While this is a Houston centric election reminder post, I am keenly aware of the fact there are people running for office across the country in critical elections, including four trans candidates in Minneapolis, New York State and Virginia looking to make history tomorrow..

Our Lone Star State ones for governor, lieutenant governor, the Lege and other critical positions in our state government aren't happening until next year.   It'll be 2019 for the city of Houston elections .

But we do have control of the HISD school board up in this election cycle with six seats up for grabs,  two HCC boards seats , five Houston city propositions and several state constitutional amendments that require you to say YEA or NAY to.

As usual the Houston LGBT Political Caucus has their endorsed slate of candidates you can vote for the endorsed candidates on their card

Who are those endorsed candidates?   Glad you asked.

Houston Community College Board of Trustees
HCC Trustee District IV -  Carolyn Evans- Shabazz
HCC Trustee District IX-    Pretta VanDible Stallworth

Houston Independent School District Board of Education
HISD Trustee District 1-   Elizabeth Santos
HISD Trustee District III- Carlos Perrett
HISD  Trustee District V-  Kara DeRocha
HISD Trustee District VI-  Holly Flynn Vilaseca
HISD Trustee  District VIII- Anne Katherine Sung

And for the first time the Caucus has also come out with an official position on issues pertinent to our community.

City of Houston Propositions
FOR City of Houston Propositions A, B, C, D and E

If you're wondering how to vote on those Texas Constitutional Amendments,  here's analysis from Daniel Williams, one of the smart people I pay attention to when he talks about Texas politics and the Texas Legislature.

So consider this a practice run for 2018 and 2020 and go handle your electoral business.

Mike Floyd's PISD Board Trustee Inauguration Today

18 year old Mike Floyd is having the Senior Week to beat all Senior Weeks.  

While his fellow Glenda Dawson High School classmates are looking forward to Senior Week activities and heading to NRG Stadium for their looming graduation on Friday, the UH bound Floyd will be getting inaugurated as the newest and youngest member of the Pearland ISD school board later today.

The 18 year old Floyd pulled off the upset by knocking off two time PISD school board incumbent Rusty DeBorde, who had the endorsement of US 22nd District Congressman Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land ).   DeBorde also committed an unforced error during the campaign by sharing an Islamophobic article on his Facebook page from former Pearland City Councilmember Kevin Cole that caused a major online backlash in the Pearland area on the eve of the election.

Even though the Islamophobic post didn't name her, it was obviously aimed at Pearland City Council candidate Dalia Kasseb, who is the first ever Muslim candidate in Brazoria County history and is currently in a runoff for a city council seat against Woody Owens.

Floyd ran in large part because he was angered by the shameful treatment of trans kid and Pearland ISD student Kai Shappley and the transphobic remarks of Pearland ISD superintendent Dr. James Kelly.  

And yes, in case you were wondering, Dr. Kelly was in Austin to testify in favor of the unjust SB 6 and disgustingly said last year in opposition to the DOE/DOJ letter that support for transgender students was akin to supporting pedophilia and polygamy

Helped out by the incumbent's unforced error and DeBorde's election eve non-apology, Floyd cruised to victory on May 6 by earning 3075 votes (54% of the votes)  to DeBorde's 2597 votes (46% of the votes) to become the youngest person elected to a school board in Texas history

Floyd wasn't your average 18 year old either.   He has been involved in politics for most of his young life before he ran for the PISD board, so he earned this win.

And Kimberly Shappley is ecstatic that he did.  She is grateful for PISD board trustee-Elect Floyd's support of hers and other transgender PISD kids.   She stated in a recent Houston Chronicle interview that his win is a sign that attitudes in Pearland are changing as this community becomes more ethnically and culturally diverse

"Across the board, people are fed up.  They are not going to allow this narrow mindset,"said Shappley.

It also isn't hurting that Pearland area millennials are speaking up and in Mike Floyd's case, successfully running for office.

The result of the winds of change blowing through Pearland is the historic event that will take place at 5 PM later today as Mike Floyd is sworn in as a PISD board trustee.

It may also be a sign that supporting trans people is an enhancement, not a detriment to your electoral chances in the Lone Star State.

Big Trans Rights Win In Illinois D211!

With 147 or the 147 precincts counted, and totals still unofficial, in an April 4 school board election with national implications that was closely watched by the trans community in Illinois and our allies, it looks as though the trans inclusive slate of D211 board members Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre and board member elect Edward Yung backed by the partnership of local parents and national trans rights group the Trans United Fund have defeated a candidate slate backed by a coalition of anti-trans activists and groups affiliated with the anti-trans SPLC-certified hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom.

In the D211 school board race, incumbent member Klimkowicz topped all candidates by garnering  9,951 votes to easily retain her seat.  incumbent member LeFevre got 8,706 to retain his and member elect Yung got 8,144 votes to capture the last available seat and return to the D211 board compared to the ADF affiliated 'Parents For Privacy' hate slate of Katherine Jee Young David with 7,917 votes, Ralph Bonatz with 7,318 and Jean Forrest with 7,225 votes.

"I think that what it says is the community thinks we're doing a good job," Klimkowicz said.

The voters have spoken, and it's a resounding defeat for anti-trans bigotry in D211.

The Alliance Defending Freedom sought to insert themselves in this local school board race in Palatine, IL in order to flip control of the largest school district in the state and undo the DOE/DOJ agreement reached in a discrimination case with a local trans student.

The national Washington DC based trans rights group Trans United Fund jumped into this race two weeks ago at the behest of parents concerned about the ADF affiliated opposition slate.

The Alliance Defending Freedom had been targeting D211 for months with a lawsuit designed to strip the trans protections from the district and overturn the settlement.

"A mom from Palatine, IL called us up to advise me that a slate of school board members was running (the Parents For Privacy slate) to take out school board members who had supported inclusive schools and with the goal of rolling back protections for trans youth," said Chicago based TUF national board member LaSaia Wade.

"The anti-trans candidates recruited to flip control of the school board were supported by a network of anti-LGBT activists and groups ranging from Illinois state senator Tom Morrison to ADF ally Vicki Wilson to the Illinois state chapter of Focus on the Family.  I raised the issues with the board, and they enthusiastically endorsed the idea of going all in to support these D211 moms and kids fighting back against an array of anti-trans oppressors," said Wade.  

Trans United Fund, sensing the national political implications and symbolic importance of this race to the trans rights cause, did more than just send a stand with them in solidarity message to the concerned parents and kids of D211. They launched the first trans led political independent expenditure in the history of the modern trans rights movement on behalf of those parents and kids.

In less than two weeks, despite the financial and organizational head start the anti- trans forces had, Trans United Fund helped the pro-trans slate parents, kids and allies raise funds and quickly assemble a strong political program that included phone banking, mail, digital and volunteer canvassing to get their ultimately successfully messaging out to the D211 voters.

As the Trans United Fund board foresaw, this is a major political win, one with soon to be determined political implications that will be felt across the country. One of the moms, sharing how inspired she was by the experience wrote about how it felt to have Trans United Fund have her and her child's back

“…words cannot express how grateful I am that you have taken your time your time and resources to help us fight back against a group of people who have sought to demean and discourage my daughter for being who she is throughout her high school years.  Unfortunately, because of their tactics, I have seen my strong-willed, smart and beautiful daughter's self-confidence shatter.  It has been an exhausting battle and at times we often felt alone and that the majority of people were, in fact, on the side of the hate group.  However, as more and more people step up and speak out, we realize we were wrong.  Through your courageous efforts, you have brought hope not just to my daughter, but to trans kids throughout D211 and the world.  You have told them that they are accepted, that they are cherished and that they have amazing talents to contribute to our society. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” a local mom in Palatine, IL. 

"We have been so inspired by the more than 30 moms and young people who have been at the core of the campaign to fight back against hate and fear in their school district," said Hayden Mora, co-chair of Trans United Fund. "I'm proud that Trans United Fund was able to make a decisive difference but I'm even prouder of the incredible coalition of allies we were able to build. "Tonight's victory is the result of the incredible leadership of moms and youth in D211, the amazing allyship of Brian Johnson and the Equality IL team, the savvy and commitment of LaSaia Wade and the Trans Liberation Collective and our team at Trans United Fund, " Mora added..

"Hate groups weren't just trying to roll back rights in this Chicago suburb, they were trying to build a model that they could export across the country. What they got was a model of what's possible when trans people, parents, youth and our LGBTQ allies work together. The message to parents and trans people all over the country tonight is one of hope and a story about how we can fight back against hate and fear and win. "
Yes we can!   In Palatine, IL tonight, we sent the message thanks to a committed group of people that we will fight for our kids, the allies who support them and do so successfully.

Why Is A Hate Group Meddling In An Illinois School Board Race?

Normally school board races can be low key and non controversial in nature unless something happens during the campaign or a controversial candidate is involved.

There's a school board election happening on April 4 in District 211 in Palatine, IL near Chicago that is fitting that description..  District 211 has been at the epicenter for a trans human rights case involving a trans feminine student at Township High School that was allowed access to the locker room after the district was found in violation of Title IX

The District, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement, then were sued by a group of transphobic parents and students backed by the right wing anti-trans group Alliance Defending Freedom, an SPLC-certified hate group..

Fast forward to the looming election.   Incumbent District 211 board members Anna Klimkowicz and Robert LeFevre voted for the settlement that was worked out with the DOE and DOJ.   D211 board candidate Edward Yung is a former member seeking to rejoin it that has expressed his support for transgender students.  

They are being challenged by a trans hate slate of candidates calling themselves the 'Parents For Privacy' that are backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, and they are dumping lots of cash and lies in this race in order to get majority control of the D211 board and rescind the settlement.

Klimkowicz , LeFevre and Yung have been endorsed by the Daily Herald, one of the area newspapers , Equality Illinois PAC , and a group of parents called Progress for D15 and D211'.

Trans United Fund, sensing the importance of this upcoming election, has not only endorsed the pro-trans incumbents, but has already spent over 80 hours organizing with the moms, who have limited resources compared to the professional hate group .

Those parents are concerned about the ADF meddling in their school board race, but don't quite have the funds they need to combat the money flowing in the Parents for Privacy camp.

The rights of trans students are on the ballot in this April 4 school board race, and if you live in the area and support trans human rights, hope you're registered to vote, will participate in this election and prove that you support trans students by voting for Klimkowicz, LeFevre and Yung to sit on that D211 board.  

Pearland ISD Oppressing A Trans Child

I was not happy to hear that while I was handling my Chautauqua business, the Pearland ISD has decided to be unapologetic trans human rights oppressors and ignore the guidelines contained in the DOE/DOJ 'Dear Colleague Letter.

Kimberly Shappley's five year old trans daughter Kai starts school on August 22, and Shappley appeared at the PISD school board meeting on Tuesday to appeal once again to PISD trustees.

The subject wasn't on their board meeting agenda, but Shappley was trying once again to get the district in Houston's booming southern suburbs to wake up and start treating transgender kids not as people to gleefully demonize but with the dignity and respect they deserve just like every other kid that is in the boundaries of their school district.

Looks like unfortunately at first glance that plea fell on deaf ears, and they are following the lead of their transphobic superintendent Dr. James Kelly.

Kelly back in May made a transphobic comment criticizing the Dear Colleague letter that alarmed Shappley, the Houston area trans community and allies living in PISD and the Houston area.  

Shappley has been told by PISD officials that when Kai begins kindergarten in a few weeks, that she will have to either use the boys bathroom or one in the nurses office.  It is a policy that runs counter to the DOE/DOJ Dear Colleague letter, that encourages districts to allow trans students to use the bathrooms that match their outward gender presentation .

It also violates Kai's civil and human rights.

Shappley said as she addressed the PISD board on Tuesday that the PISD policies create an intolerant atmosphere that promotes bullying and could put her daughter's life at risk.

"You are increasing the risk of suicide among these children.  "I am the mom of a little girl who I want to live." Shappley said to the board.  "I'm fighting for her happiness.  I'm fighting for her freedom."




Since the topic wasn't on the PISD board meeting agenda, the trustees declined to address Shappley's comments either at Tuesday's board meeting or in the media.

But it's increasingly clear that the Pearland ISD, despite their rhetoric that they care about the welfare of all their students, doesn't care about the happiness, lives, freedom and welfare of its transgender students.

They are hell bent on being trans human rights oppressors and unfortunately are willing to continue violating Title VII and Title IX at the behest of bad advice from our indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.   PISD probably won't care about the human rights of Kai and other trans kids in their district until they lose a federal human rights lawsuit.

And that's sad because PISD should be embracing Kai and doing what they can to educate her.  Instead they are taking the path of gleefully oppressing Kai and greasing the skids for her cisgender classmates and adults who should know better at her elementary school to bully her.

The TX Values Transphobes Are Planning To Swarm The FWISD Board Meeting Today

Pissed off because the Fort Worth Independent School District decided to clarify its policies impacting trans students,  the transphobic ignorati stirred up by my transphobic Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Texas Haters Values are planning to swarm tonight's FWISD board meeting that starts at 5:30 PM to vent their spleens at Superintendent Dr. Kent Scribner and the FWISD school board for their policy they quietly approved and announced at their April 19 board meeting...

Their plans are to pack the room with haters and send hate mail to the FWISD board, so let's have some fun spoiling those plans.  

Our transphobic Lt. Governor will also be in the FWISD house to demand the resignation of Superintendent Scribner and the repeal of the policy.

According to my sources in the DFW area, both those events Patrick is demanding have as much chance of happening as the Cowboys moving to San Antonio to play their games at the Alamodome this season.


Local folks in Fort Worth and the DFW Metroplex who support the new policy and our trans kids are asked to show up wearing RED before the 5:30 PM meeting start time.    If you want a seat in the chamber, I suggest you get there an hour before that, especially if you want to deny seats to the haters who will probably be busing in from exurban hate megachurches or driving in from the surrounding teabagging exurbs.

If you can't make it to FWISD headquarters to show your support for the school board, you can e-mail the members . The haters are calling for people across Texas and the USA to do so, so they have opened the door for us fair minded citizens and the national and international trans community to reciprocate.

I think the FWISD board would appreciate getting some friendly supportive calls and e-mails, so if you have time, please send these FWISD board members thank you e-mails for standing up for the rights and humanity of ALL their students because we know the faux faith based opposition is sending them facts free hate mail as you read this.

Here are some facts debunking the bathroom lies to help you as you compose those supportive e-mails.

. FWISD Board President  Jacinto “Cinto” Ramos, Jr – jacinto.ramos@fwisd.org

1. Tobi Jackson – tobi.jackson@fwisd.org
   Christene Chadwick Moss – christene.moss@fwisd.org
   Theophlous Aron Sims, Sr. – ta.sims@fwisd.org
   Judy Needham – judy.needham@fwisd.org
   Ann Sutherland – ann.sutherland@fwisd.org
   Norman Robbins – norman.robbins@fwisd.org
   Matthew Avila – matthew.avila@fwisd.org
   Ashley Paz – ashley.paz@fwisd.org

The FWISD administration building is located at 2903 Shotts Street in Fort Worth.  The meeting will be livestreamed, and if you live in the DFW area you can see it live on Charter cable channel 192 and , AT&T U-Verse channel 99

If you wish to speak before the board or find out what their policies are to do so, I would suggest calling the Office of the Board of Education at 817-814-1920.
.
Here's hoping that Dan Patrick and Texas Values don't get what they want in the optics of a parade of haters on the local news ignorantly blasting the school board and Superintendent Scribner for the trans inclusive policy.

I also don't want our trans kids who are attending FWISD schools seeing that soul crushing spectacle of one person after another denigrating their humanity.
   

JCPS Finally Passes Trans Policy Expansion!

Last night some old Louisville human rights business I'd been working on since 2007 and had to unhappily leave undone when I moved in 2010 was finally completed!

By a nearly unanimous 6-1 vote, the Jefferson County Public School Board in Louisville voted to expand the JCPS  anti-harassment and non discrimination policies to includes  added gender identity and expression to the district's non discrimination and anti-bullying policies.

And the wonderful Bluegrass State news news had me doing the happy dance deep in the heart of Southeast Texas.

It was a process that Mike Slaton and I along with a team of people had been fighting for back in 2007, and I was bitterly disappointed when the gender identity and expression language was cut in favor of adding sexual orientation only

JCPS is Kentucky's largest school district, with 101,000+ students, 172 schools, and 6,400+ teachers, With this near unanimous vote, JCPS becomes only the second school district in the state to add gender identity to its non-discrimination and bullying and harassment policies.

The Fayette County Public School Board in Lexington approved a similar policy in July 2012.

As Metro Louisville Human Relations Commissioner Dawn Wilson said in a statement on her Facebook page," Tonight, the ghost of 2007 was finally laid to rest.  No outside opposition. Room supportive. As the education chair of the Louisville Human Relations Commission I applaud the JCPS board for passing 6-1 gender ID and expression to the school policy!

The chair of GLSEN Bluegrass was also pleased with what transpired at the Van Hoose Education Center last night.
“We are pleased to see JCPS pass this policy and join Fayette County as the only two school districts in the state with fully inclusive policies that protect students regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Zoey Peach, chair of GLSEN Bluegrass. “With the knowledge that they are protected from bullying and discrimination, these policies will ensure a safe and affirming school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in these schools.” 

And I'm happy for the trans JCPS students and employees the expansion of this policy will protect. . 

Another Month, Another Contentious HISD Board Meeting

Stay tuned because there will be fireworks at this Thursday's HISD 4 PM CDT board meeting.
--TransGriot   March 13, 2014.

Can I call it or what? 

I had the opportunity to spend what was an interesting afternoon and early evening watching and Tweeting remarks during the March HISD Board meeting in which 120 people signed up to speak at a meeting that had the closure of Jones High School and Dodson Elementary on the menu.  

As I mentioned in earlier posts, the Houston African-American community is seething with anger over the fact that 19 of the schools that have been closed so far are disproportionately in African-American neighborhoods, and are creating what we call 'school deserts' in our neighborhoods.   

That anger boiled over in the meeting last night attended by a standing room only crowd in the board room at HISD's Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on the northwest side of town. 

Because of the large number of speakers, we were limited to one minute (which pissed me off) because you can't even get a coherent thought out in one minute.  The dismissive,disinterested attitude of the white male HISD board members and Superintendent Grier as people came to the podium to express themselves was interpreted as disrespect, combined with the pissivity over the proposed closes of two more of our schools.  

That combined with many people feeling before even walking into that board meeting the HISD board and the district weren't and haven't been listening to our community about our displeasure over the disproportionate number of public schools being closed  in our neighborhoods led to emotions boiling over.

When one of the speakers made the comment of coming after Terry Grier with an accounting audit, all the HISD po-po's heard was 'threat' and scrambled into action to form a phalanx in front of the board while the person was hustled off to another corner of the room away from the speakers podium.  That triggered a five minute recess and 'Fire Terry Grier' chants as people wroked to defuse tensions in the room..

After the pissivity in the room was ratcheted down a few levels with the help of Trustees Wanda Adams, Rhonda Skillern-Jones and Texas state rep Borris Miles,  the vote on Jones fate happened.   The proposal was amended to keep Jones open and repurpose it without athletics, which didn't sit well with me and many of the people in the room.   We basically want the same thing the white HISD constituents enjoy at Bellaire, Lamar, Westside, and other comprehensive HISD neighborhood high schools.  

That passed on a 6-3 vote.  Jones lived, but its attendance zone was split between Worthing and Sterling High Schools and what the 'repurposed' school is going to look like is still to be determined. 

But it definitely wasn't the comprehensive high school we wanted 

Dodson Elementary unfortunately we couldn't save.  Because as I mentioned in yesterday's post Dodson's location made it a juicy target for closure despite hosting an exemplary rated Montessori program. 

It sits in the shadow of downtown in the EaDo neighborhood less than two blocks from the soon to be opened Purple Line light rail line and right next to a hike and bike trail.   It was battling the forces of gentrification and whatever backroom deals had been cut and our kids are going to be the losers in this.   .  

The vote to close it was a 5-4 one, and that stoked fresh waves of anger after the stunned crowd realized what happened.
  
So the struggle continues.  Another Black school in Houston has been slated for closure this May, Jones has been put on the slow track in many of our minds to eventual death and the simmering African-American community anger at superintendent Dr. Terry Grier and the HISD board has just had gasoline poured on it.


As to whether the trust level between the Houston African-American community and the HISD board can be rebuilt?   What that is going to take is Terry Grier's firing or departure as a starting point and a moratorium on school closures in our neighborhoods.    

Moni's Headed To The HISD School Board Meeting

I'm preparing to head over to Houston northwest side and the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center for today's 4 PM CDT HISD school board meeting that will determine the fate of my high school alma mater and Dodson Elementary School. 

And if you're wondering if I'm feeling a sense of deja vu about this, yes, I am. 

The HISD board of trustees is going to vote on that issue today, and I'm one of the speakers signed up in opposition to it.  

Superintendent Grier is proposing (again) to close the doors of Jesse H Jones at the end of this school year and send the students currently enrolled there to Sterling and Worthing high schools.  

I and a coalition of people are fighting to keep that from happening, and pointing out that HISD caused many of the problems the school is experiencing.

A press conference was held yesterday in front of Jones in which we pointed out once again the HISD has no legitimate reason to close Jones or Dodson Elementary and are tired of the school closure ax falling in predominately African-American neighborhoods.   . 

We'll see what happens at the school board meeting.   My HISD trustee Paula Harris said February 11 at the community meeting held at Jones there weren't five votes on the board (the majority) to close those schools.  But until the HISD board actually casts that binding vote in public at today's meeting, anything can happen.  


Will update y'all as to what is happening and how it turned out. 

Moni's At The March HISD Board Meeting

I talk about intersectionality a lot on this blog.   I also talk about the fact that I interact and intersect with a lot of communities besides just the trans one.  I also have policy and other issue interests besides trans human rights ones.

I talked about in the Saving JJ post about HISD's attempt to consolidate my old high school with one of our rivals in Ross Sterling.   It was a plan they attempted to shadily blitz through at the last minute and we raised enough of a stink to get the high school consolidation part of it tabled for now. 

I practice what I preach about intersectionality, and to prove it, here's video of the March 7 HISD school board meeting.   You'll see some trans blogger y'all know and love speaking during this board meeting.

Saving JJ

Figures that a bunch of stuff would blow up as I'm scrambling to replace my computer.

One of the things that has come up during the week my computer died is the shocking news that the HISD board wants to consolidate my alma mater Jesse H. Jones High ironically with the school I was zoned to in Ross S. Sterling.

Next to Jack Yates (which I still sarcastically refer to as Burger King High because BK's 1970's work uniforms were in Yates' gold and red school colors) Ross Sterling is our biggest rival.  

The district football game we played against each other was nicknamed the 'South Park Super Bowl' and I'm happy to note that during my time walking JJ's halls we Falcons never lost to to the Raiders.   I still bow to Galen Gillum every time I see him at our reunions for saving me from a year of trash talking from my neighborhood by kicking the school record 38 yard game winning field goal in the 1979 game that JJ won 22-20.

You've seen some of my JJ themed posts on the blog, read me bragging about my old school's athletic exploits, and discussing my reunion with the Class With Class, JJ's class of 1980 of which I am a proud member.

But my school which has been open since 1959, counts former HPD police chief Elizabeth Watson, actress JoBeth Williams, NFL all pros Darrell Green and Alfred Williams, NBA baller Daniel Gibson and countless doctors, attorneys, business people, and a human rights activist and blogger amongst its alumni is on the verge of of having its doors shut forever.

In the upcoming agenda meeting at 4:00 PM CST Monday and the HISD school board meeting on Thursday at 5 PM a proposal is being floated to consolidate the two high schools in the wake of the just passed bond issues that allocates $72 million to tear down and rebuild Sterling's campus that opened in 1965. 

The plan is to move the 888 students currently on the Sterling campus to Jones' campus in the fall while theirs is being rebuilt.  Once construction is complete, they and the 451 students currently on JJ's campus will be combined into a new school.


Of course, that plan is not sitting well with either alumni group and especially the parents in South Park who would have to send their kids several miles away from South Park to Sterling or whatever they rename the combined school.

Two of the suggestions for the renamed school are Martin Luther King Jr HS and Barack H Obama HS.  Others have suggested it be named for an African-American Houstonian or Texan.

In case you're wondering TransGriot readers, Barbara Jordan's name already graces a Houston high school.

There were two meetings held Tuesday night at Jones and Sterling in which peeps voiced their less than enthusiastic response to the plan.    There's also a Facebook group of Jones and Sterling alums working together to put a third option on the table of keeping both schools open and enhancing the programs available at both schools.

Much of the hostility on the JJ end is the fact that popular programs like the Hotel and Restaurant management one, the International Baccalaureate one, and the Vanguard one that drew me to the school have been stripped away from the Jones campus.  The way the Vanguard programs was moved in 2002 despite opposition to it from the neighborhood and alums, the messing with Lawrence Allen, one of the schools popular principals (and a JJ Class of 80 alum) during the early 2K's that was the flimsy pretext used by predominately white Vanguard parents groups to force the program off campus also didn't engender warm and fuzzy feelings toward HISD.  

It has led to an air of justified side-eyed suspicion toward HISD's motives in all this especially since Jones alumni, students and parents have the attitude that once again, JJ is being screwed in all this..  It also doesn't help that since the retirement of our longtime principal Arthur L Pace, there has been instability in the principal's chair that has led to six people occupying it in a five year span and last year at a neighborhood meeting at Worthing HS when the question of asked of Superintendent Terry Grier of this possibility, the assembled crowd at that meeting was told there were no plans to merge the two schools. .

And they wonder why neighborhood parents have been sending their kids elsewhere? 

What the alumni and neighborhood parents are wanting from HISD is to invest the money in Jones they promised to get us to vote YES on that 2012 bond issue.   One of the other suggestions that has been floated, since they know we are still pissed off about the Vanguard program shadily being moved from JJ's campus back in 2002 to what is now called the Carnegie Vanguard campus is creating a second Vanguard campus, housing it at JJ and naming the school for Mr Pace, who was the first African-American principal of the school and the longest tenured one.

And you peeps can also hit up the HISD school board on this one as well.

Well, as many of us have asked, if you're going to do that, then why not keep Jones alive for the neighborhood kids since Vanguard was originally a 'school within a school' and until it was yanked off the campus functioned quite well in that role? 

I'll definitely be at the board meeting, and will keep y'all posted as to how this turned out.

East Aurora, IL School Board Caves To Hate Group

On Monday the East Aurora, IL  Board of Education unanimously adopted a groundbreaking policy hat would benefit the trans and gender non-conforming students in their district

The new policy specifically states that transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right use the restroom that corresponds to their gender-related identity that is consistently asserted at school. The student has the right to be addressed by the name they want to be called, too.
“A court-ordered name or gender change is not required, and the student needs not change his or her official records.” it's stated in the policy
…
“In no case shall a transgender student be required to use a locker room that conflicts with the student’s gender-related identity,” the policy reads.

Didn't take long for the transphobes of the Illinois Family Association, a Southern Poverty Law Center  certified hate group to jump in and start stirring up opposition to the policy. to the point in which the East Aurora school board started wavering on doing what was right.   The pushback from groups supporting the policy was just as swift.

The Trevor Project issued a statement in support of the policy. 

“The Trevor Project is fully in support of maintaining the policy adopted unanimously by the East Aurora School Board on Monday,” stated Abbe Land, executive director and CEO of The Trevor Project. “Since 2010, more than 3,000 teens from Illinois have called the Trevor Lifeline in crisis, and among their top presenting problems were bullying and harassment at school. This policy will help protect the highly vulnerable transgender student population from discrimination, fear and hate that leads to bullying, increased anxiety, and elevated safety concerns on East Aurora’s campuses, and is a step that can help save lives.”

Last night the East Aurora board held another meeting.  By a 4-0 vote with three board members absent, they caved to the chrisotfascists at the Illinois Family Association and rescinded the policy the board passed on Monday to boos and cries of "Shame" and "Cowards".

The policy had support from the overflow crowd in attendance for the meeting.   Out of the twenty people that spoke at the emergency meeting, 17 were in favor of keeping the passed policy.    One of those persons in favor of it, Victoria Beltran, who has three children in the District's schools had this to say.

“If you go against it, there’s no reason to support you guys,” she told the board. “We need to hear everyone in our district and not people outside our district.”   Ms.Beltran was referring to the haters at the IFA, who like the cowards they are didn't send anyone to speak at that meeting.  

Parents who are in favor of the policy are considering in conjunction with several organizations lawsuits to restore the policy, and I wouldn't be surprised if those board members find themselves challenged in the next election cycle for caving in the face of bigotry and hatred.

The bigots and bullies of the IFA won this round because the East Aurora, IL school board was too cowardly to stand up for what they passed Monday.   If they did so out of fear they were going to lose their seats, their actions last night to rescind the policy may be what actually costs them their seats, not supporting the trans and gender variant kids of the district .  

And speaking of those trans and gender variant kids, you rescinded the policy on Spirit Day.   It's bitterly ironic that on a day in which millions of people and allies around the country show support to trans and gender variant kids against bullying aimed at them, you East Aurora school board members caved in to the bigots and bullies of the Illinois Family Association.

That's fracked up East Aurora school board, and shame on y'all for not being tough minded enough to stand up for the trans and gender variant kids in your district.

HISD December Board Meeting Tomorrow

The Houston rainbow community is still pissed off about the homophobic flier that embattled Trustee Manuel Rodriguez unleashed in his tight reelection campaign for his District III seat against Ramiro Fonseca.

While Rodriguez won reelection by a scant 24 votes, he ignited in the process an ongoing firestorm of criticism, the creation of a website aimed at him and repeated calls for his resignation from the HISD school board.

It has also prompted the board to examine the recently passed non discrimination policies, make them applicable to the Board of Trustees as well and give the board the authority to internally address violations in the wake of what happened during the recent election campaign and is one of the issues on the meeting agenda for tomorrow.

The latest HISD board meeting in the wake of the ongoing controversy will take place in what is certain to be a packed board auditorium at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.  For you folks in the Houston area wishing to express yourselves to the school board about this issue, you have until 4:30 PM CST today to register to speak during the public comment portion of the board meeting.


Despite the chilly near freezing temperature weather that has descended upon the Houston area, there is another protest scheduled outside the building at 4400 W. 18th Street to renew the calls for Rodriguez's resignation.  

And if you can't make it, the HISD board meetings are televised on public access cable channels.   .   

Will be interesting to watch what goes down at the school board meeting tomorrow.