November 15, 2024
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION African-American News&Issues
“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”
Vol. 29, Issue 44
FREE
We the People We need to start holding each other accountable. - Roy Douglas Malonson
JACKSON CARES
HOUSTON ISD BOND GOES DOWN
By: Bill King
Voters decisively rejected Houston ISD’s request to approve $4.4 billion in bonds to rebuild and renovate some of its facilities. The proposal was the largest bond proposal in the state’s history. For many years, it was unusual for voters to give the thumbs down to bonds for public schools. That trend began unwinding a few years ago, as taxpayers began to recoil from proposals that included lavish athletic facilities in particular. Also, a new
Texas law in 2021, which required school districts to state that approving the bond would result in a tax increase, put a damper on new proposals. Nonetheless, a study done by the Texas Tribune found that in recent years, 70-80% of school bond proposals were approved by voters. But in most cases, even when bonds were rejected by the voters, the vote was close. But not so in HISD’s case. The final vote was 58-42 against. I could Bond on pg. 3
By: Natiece Ford
“After everyone else went home, I went back to check on the families to see if I could help them get some sense of normalcy.” That is the kind of man Freddie Jackson is and what has allowed him to excel within the Houston Fire Department. For fifty years, Jackson has been involved in helping the community. A Houston native, he joined the Houston Fire Department in November 1973 and was a member of Local #341 from 1974 to 1993. When asked if he always dreamed of becoming a firefighter, his answer pointed to the discrimination that Black individuals face, both then and now. “I could never have dreamed of becoming a firefighter when I was a kid because they didn’t hire their first Black firefighter until 1955.” Jackson was born in Jackson on pg. 5