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102-628: The district was established sometime around 1923 as the Northeast Houston Independent School District . It was also named the East and Mount Houston Independent School District . It began with a single school. The district originally had a low-income rural white population. Schools were segregated until the late 1960s. By the 1970s, when the area was suburban and still mostly white, the state mandated racial integration of schools. African-American families moved to North Forest for

204-485: A 2-mile (3.2 km) radius of the landfill. Residents sued the landfill company in federal court, but lost the suit in 1985. As a result of the case, remedies were passed at the state and municipal levels. In 1981 the NFISD Police Department was established. In 1991 voters approved an approximately $ 40 million NFISD bond, and in 1997 another bond, leading to the construction of four schools. On March 1, 1998,

306-498: A bookkeeper. Jones took an interest in the young man's career, and put him through law school. Creekmore passed the bar exam in 1932 and returned to work for Jones. He held several positions in the Jones business empire. In 1959, he was named to the board of Houston Endowment, and was promoted to president of the board in 1964. By 1965, Creekmore had persuaded other directors of Houston Endowment to sell several business properties, including

408-466: A citywide program that provides needy children between the ages of two and ten with toys during the winter holidays . In 2003, Goodfellows distributed almost 250,000 toys to more than 100,000 needy children in the Greater Houston area. In 1926, Jesse H. Jones became the sole owner of the paper. He had approached Foster about selling, and Foster had answered, "What will you give me?" Jones described

510-445: A cost of $ 18,000, including a 144-gallon freshwater aquarium. Jones-Cowart Stadium on the campus of the former Smiley High School, now North Forest High School, served as the district's stadium for sporting events. The school district provided transportation to any elementary, middle, or high school student living over 2 miles (3.2 km) from his or her assigned school. The district may have added .1 miles (0.16 km) to establish

612-650: A job fair for NFISD employees. That month non-contract employees received notice that their jobs would end on June 30, 2013. HISD offered bonuses of $ 5,000 for experienced teachers who were willing to teach at former NFISD schools. Greg Groogan of KRIV said, "There will almost certainly be massive teacher turnover as a consequence of the merger." Jason Spencer, a spokesperson for HISD, said that ultimately 74 of about 500 NFISD teachers were rehired into HISD. HISD assumed control of all facilities, debts, and liabilities of NFISD, including $ 60 million in maintenance tax and general obligation debt. Senfronia Thompson said that

714-605: A lower tax rate. As of 2003 the NFISD attendance zone had very little industry. In 2006 the area within NFISD had the lowest property value per student ratio in Harris County, and less than half the average in the state. Within the district, in 2006 the typical single-family house was appraised at $ 51,106 ($ 77241.09 when adjusted for inflation). 42 of the 15,637 houses within the NFISD boundaries had an appraised value greater than $ 200,000 ($ 302277.98 when adjusted for inflation). In 2007, of

816-590: A major renovation and modernization project, which was completed in the late 1960s. On April 25, 2017, it was imploded and reduced to rubble. The site is now occupied by the Texas Tower. The newspaper and its staff have several times been Pulitzer finalists: In April 2004 the Houston Chronicle began carrying a Spanish-language supplement, the entertainment magazine La Vibra . La Vibra caters to speakers of Spanish and bilingual English-Spanish speakers, and

918-417: A maze of corridors, cul-de-sacs and steps that seemed to spring on strollers at the most unexpected times." The facility, which was 106 years old in 2016, was originally four separate structures, which were joined to make one building. Jesse H. Jones erected the first Chronicle building, a long, narrow structure clad in granite, on the corner of Travis Street and Texas Avenue in 1910. The second building,

1020-467: A note for 500,000 secured by a mortgage on the Chronicle Building, the note to be payable (interest and principal) at the rate of 35,000 a year for thirty-five years, which I figured was about his expectancy. I would also pay him 20,000 dollars a year as editor of the paper and 6,000 dollars a year to continue writing the daily front-page column, "MEFO", on the condition that either of us could cancel

1122-504: A plan to have all NFISD schools be charter managed instead of having NFISD merged into HISD. Michael Feinberg, the creator of KIPP, had created this plan. Jackson Lee voiced approval, while Senfronia Thompson, the House representative, and Rodney Ellis and John Whitmire , members of the Texas Senate , expressed reservations. The TEA did not accept the proposal. According to Feinberg, "It seemed

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1224-729: A preliminary to making its decision, the Justice Department asked HISD for information on how it would integrate NFISD into its school board boundaries. On June 13, 2013 the HISD board voted unanimously to absorb NFISD. That month, an NFISD lawsuit against the TEA was dismissed. On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned several portions of the Voting Rights Act , so that

1326-530: A press release announcing that one of her reporters bad been caught making up sources over the course of several years. Barnes never explained why the Chronicle decided against being transparent to it readers immediately, instead of waiting for word to leak to the extent that other news outlets started planning stories. The sources being questioned in Ward's reporting were the product of "man-on-the-street" interviews from

1428-523: A reasonable boundary. It also provided transportation for AM and PM kindergarten students around noon. If students faced hazards (such as construction areas and multilane highways) that prevented safe travel to the assigned schools, the Department of Transportation would decide to allow bus travel for those students. The district had a fleet of fifty school buses that made 111 runs daily and served about 3,300 students. Including maintenance and service vehicles,

1530-455: A statistical analysis of two years of Forest Brook TAKS test scores by The Dallas Morning News in June 2007 which examined two years of scores from Forest Brook revealed patterns that the newspaper considered suspicious. In Spring 2007 state monitors supervised TAKS tests at Forest Brook, and passing rates on 11th-grade TAKS tests declined from 2006. In 2008 outside monitors reported poor management at

1632-469: A story dealing with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Harvey . Barnes said Houston Chronicle researchers had problems finding a number of sources quoted in Ward's story, so the newspaper hired investigative journalist David Wood, a Pulitzer Prize winner. On November 8, 2018, one day before Barnes left for a position as senior vice president of news at National Public Radio, the Houston Chronicle released some of Wood's findings. The paper announced it

1734-407: A water hose. Forest Brook students shared the campus of the district's other high school, M. B. Smiley High School , until Forest Brook re-opened in the spring. In March 2008 North Forest ISD announced that it would consolidate the two high schools to form North Forest High School and close Tidwell Elementary School, merging it into Hilliard. Pupils formerly zoned to Tidwell started being a part of

1836-537: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in Harris County, Texas is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Houston Chronicle The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas , United States. As of April 2016, it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only The New York Times and

1938-401: Is a subscriber-only site that contains everything found in the daily print edition. From its inception, the practices and policies of the Houston Chronicle were shaped by strong-willed personalities who were the publishers. The history of the newspaper can be best understood when divided into the eras of these individuals. The Houston Chronicle was founded in 1901 by a former reporter for

2040-625: Is a troubled district. Not only is it last in Harris County in SAT scores and passing rates on the TAKS test, but it ranks among the worst in the state." In late 2006 the TEA assigned two teachers to monitor two NFISD campuses that were rated "unacceptable" by the TEA. A February 2007 report by the Texas Education Agency, based on data from 2005 derived mainly from the testimony of school officials, said that Forest Brook High School had no cheating; however,

2142-615: Is mainly distributed in Hispanic neighborhoods. In December 2004 the Chronicle acquired the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz de Houston . In the weeks following the September 11 attacks , the Houston Chronicle published a series of opinion articles by University of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen that asserted the United States was "just as guilty" as the hijackers in committing acts of violence and compared that attack with

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2244-494: Is now rededicated." Under Jones' watch, the Chronicle bought KTRH , one of Houston's oldest radio stations, in 1937. In 1954, Jones led a syndicate that signed on Houston's third television station, KTRK-TV . The board of Houston Endowment named John T. Jones, nephew of Jesse H. Jones, as editor of the Chronicle . Houston Endowment president, J. Howard Creekmore, was named publisher. In 1961, John T. Jones hired William P. Steven as editor. Steven had previously been editor of

2346-424: Is uninfluenced by unworthy motives, and unbought by the desire for gain. A newspaper which can be neither bought nor bullied is the greatest asset of a city or state. Naturally, a newspaper makes mistakes in judgment, as it does in type; but, so long as errors are honestly made, they are not serious when general results are considered. The success or failure of a particular issue is of little consequence compared with

2448-858: The Los Angeles Times . With the 1995 buyout of its longtime rival the Houston Post , the Chronicle became Houston's newspaper of record . The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation , a privately held multinational corporate media conglomerate with $ 10 billion in revenues. The paper employs nearly 2,000 people, including approximately 300 journalists , editors , and photographers . The Chronicle has bureaus in Washington, D.C. , and Austin . The paper reports that its web site averages 125 million page views per month. The publication serves as

2550-573: The Tulsa Tribune and the Minneapolis Star Tribune , and credited with turning around the declining readership of both papers. One of his innovations was the creation of a regular help column called "Watchem", where ordinary citizens could voice their complaints. The Chicago Tribune later called this column a pioneer and prototype of the modern newspaper "Action Line". Steven's progressive political philosophy soon created conflict with

2652-399: The Chronicle endorsed Wendy Davis for governor in 2014 , and Sylvester Turner for mayor in 2015. Additionally, the Chronicle initially endorsed Jeb Bush for the 2016 Republican primary, but did not endorse any other candidate after he dropped out. In September 2018, then-executive editor Nancy Barnes released a statement on the Chronicle ' s website notifying readers for

2754-601: The Chronicle switched to being a morning-only paper. With the demise of the Houston Post on April 18 the next year, the Chronicle became Houston's sole major daily newspaper. On October 18, 2008, the paper endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election , the first Democrat to be endorsed by the newspaper since 1964, when it endorsed Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. It endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, but endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020. Locally,

2856-546: The Chronicle . Everett D. Collier replaced Steven as editor. Collier remained in this position until his retirement in 1979. J. Howard Creekmore was born in Abilene, Texas, in 1905. His parents died while he was young, so he was raised by his stepmother. The family moved to Houston in 1920. Howard enrolled in Rice Institute, where he graduated with degrees in history and English. After graduation, he went to work for Jesse Jones as

2958-474: The Chronicle . Houston oilman John Mecom offered $ 85 million for the newspaper, its building, a 30 percent interest in Texas National Bank of Commerce, and the historic Rice Hotel. Early in 1966, Mecom encountered problems raising the additional cash to complete the transaction. He then began lining up potential buyers for the newspaper, which included non-Houstonians such as Sam Newhouse, Otis Chandler and

3060-447: The Houston Chronicle reported that an independent auditor had told the trustees that the district was close to bankruptcy, and three days later that the TEA had investigated the district for possible illegality in the use of construction funds for general purposes. On February 4, a trustee requested to change his "Yes" vote for re-instating Simpson to a "No". The TEA denied the district's decision to reinstate Simpson. In March that year,

3162-467: The Houston Federation of Teachers president, stated that HISD could not publicly accept the district since it would appear greedy, nor could it publicly reject NFISD since it would appear to be racist against black people. Fallon argued that HISD saw an economic advantage to absorbing NFISD. In March 2013 Harmony Public Schools , KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), and Yes Prep together presented

North Forest Independent School District - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-502: The Kendleton Independent School District . Chris Tritico, a lawyer representing North Forest, accused the state of only trying to annex black-populated school districts. On July 8, 2011, the TEA announced that North Forest High School and North Forest ISD would receive an "Academically Unacceptable" rating and the district would be assigned a "Non-Accredited-Revoked" accreditation for the school year 2011-2012 and

3366-473: The Ku Klux Klan (KKK). He sold the rest of his interest to Jesse H. Jones on June 26, 1926, and promptly retired. In 1911, city editor George Kepple started Goodfellows. On Christmas Eve 1911, Kepple passed a hat among the Chronicle ' s reporters to collect money to buy toys for a shoe-shine boy. Goodfellows continues today through donations made by the newspaper and its readers. It has grown into

3468-567: The Wilson administration , helping to found the Red Cross during World War I, and later famously under the Roosevelt administration, described the paper's mission in these terms: I regard the publication of a newspaper as a distinct public trust, and one not to be treated lightly or abused for selfish purposes or to gratify selfish whims. A great daily newspaper can remain a power for good only so long as it

3570-553: The " newspaper of record " of the Houston area. Previously headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building at 801 Texas Avenue, Downtown Houston , the Houston Chronicle is now located at 4747 Southwest Freeway . While Houston Chronicle staff formerly published on the ad-supported, non-subscriber site Chron.com, today Chron and Houston Chronicle have separate websites and newsrooms. Houstonchronicle.com, launched in 2012,

3672-426: The 2013-2014 school year, Fonwood Elementary School was repurposed as an early childhood center, and Thurgood Marshall Early Childhood Center and Elmore Middle School were repurposed as elementary schools. Hilliard and Shadydale elementaries were also annexed into HISD, but Lakewood Elementary School was not scheduled to re-open for the 2013-2014 school year. Some existing HISD elementary schools began serving portions of

3774-516: The 610 Loop campus, at the intersection of the 610 Loop and U.S. Route 59 / I-69 ( Southwest Freeway ). The facility, previously used as the Houston Post headquarters, will have a total of seven buildings with a total of over 440,000 square feet (41,000 m ) of space. The original building is a 1970s four-story " New Brutalist " building. As of 2016, the building housed the Chronicle Production Department, as well as

3876-599: The African-American community) and the Houston Tribune (an ultra-conservative paper). Both papers had rather small circulations and no influence among the city's business community. The two major newspapers in Houston never mentioned Steven for many years thereafter. John J. Jones left the Chronicle not long after Steven's ouster. J. Howard Creekmore, president of the Houston Endowment, took John Jones' place at

3978-497: The Downtown facility, the presses there were decommissioned in the late 2000s. The newsroom within the facility had bullpen-style offices with a few private cubicles and offices on the edges. The facility was connected to the downtown Houston tunnel system . Turner wrote that "in recent decades," 801 Texas Avenue "offered viewers an architectural visage of unadorned boxiness.... An accretion of five buildings made into one, it featured

4080-458: The Endowment board had ordered him to dismiss Steven. Jones had to comply. On September 3, the paper published a story announcing that Everett Collier was now the new editor. No mention was made of Steven or the Houston Endowment board. Houston Post staff wrote an article about the change, but top management killed it. Only two weekly papers in Houston mentioned it: Forward Times (which targeted

4182-598: The Hilliard zone in August 2008. From the late 1980s, the district had experienced recurring financial and academic problems. In 1988 the TEA assigned a monitor to NFISD to deal with the school board and the finances; Ericka Mellon of the Houston Chronicle said that the school board was "meddling." On October 12, 1989, the Houston Chronicle printed an article, "North Forest district shows off its 'other' side in tour", about

North Forest Independent School District - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-466: The Majestic Theater, was built west of the Chronicle building. The second building built by Jones opened in 1910. In 1918, the third Jones building, Milam Building, opened west of the theater. An annex was built on the north side of the main building in 1938 and gained a fifth floor in the 1960s. The fifth building was a production plant, built north of the original four buildings. They were joined in

4386-506: The NFISD area and the current HISD territory. The school district said that it would oppose the closure order. Sheila Jackson Lee , a local congressperson, also expressed her opposition to the closure. Harold Dutton , a member of the Texas House of Representatives , said that the TEA did not do enough to save the district, while Debbie Ratcliffe, the spokesperson of the TEA, said that the TEA could not get NFISD to make sufficient progress. As

4488-443: The NFISD area, and the NFISD zone was divided between Forest Brook Middle School and the existing HISD Key Middle School and between North Forest High School and the existing HISD Kashmere High School . YES Prep Public Schools was permitted to continue leasing a school facility. Classes at HISD-operated NFISD schools began on August 26, 2013. As of October 2013, according to Spencer, HISD had spent $ 25 million to cover

4590-410: The NFISD district administration building were closed for repairs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that it would pay 75% of the damage costs sustained as a result of Allison. On March 18, 2003 NFISD had a budget of $ 65 million during that year; about $ 50 million came from the state and the rest came from property taxes. On July 20, 2007, teenagers vandalized Forest Brook High School with

4692-412: The NFISD students. An editorial in the Houston Chronicle argued that the district ought to be shut down, and that parents in the NFISD region should try to enroll their children in HISD schools, as HISD allows children living in neighboring districts to attend HISD schools tuition-free. The editorial stated that once HISD absorbs the NFISD territory, it ought to begin offering school bus services between

4794-501: The Northeast Education First community group asked for the state to fire the school board; Governor Rick Perry denied the request. On March 26 the district stated that it would lay off 90 teachers to try to reduce its budget crisis. The TEA estimated that the district would have a $ 17 million debt by August 2008. On July 31, 2008, Wayne Dolcefino of ABC 13 KTRK in Houston reported on a several months' investigation of

4896-514: The Scripps-Howard organization. Creekmore strongly believed that local persons should own the paper. He insisted that Mecom pay the $ 84 million debt immediately in cash. Mecom cancelled his purchase agreement. In 1968, the Chronicle set a Texas newspaper circulation record. In 1981, the business pages—which until then had been combined with sports—became its own section of the newspaper. Creekmore remained as publisher until Houston Endowment sold

4998-575: The State of Texas no longer required clearance from the Department of Justice before shutting down North Forest. The following day, U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected a claim that allowing the closure of NFISD would violate the legal rights of voters from racial and ethnic minority groups. On June 28 the Texas Supreme Court declined to stop the merger, ending the district's final appeal against closure. NFISD officially closed on July 1, 2013. NFISD

5100-487: The TEA from 2008 to 2011. On March 9, 2007, the NFISD board voted 4-3 to terminate Dr. James Simpson, the superintendent. In May, the state ordered the district to reinstate Simpson, saying that he had been denied due process . In November that year the TEA appointed an academic overseer to monitor the district; the TEA had sent a financial overseer in March. On January 23, 2008, the trustees voted to rehire Simpson. On January 28,

5202-430: The TEA had indicated financial and governance problems at NFISD. Dr. Robert Sanborn, the president and CEO of the organization Children at Risk , described the state of affairs as "inexcusable", with both district high schools posting poor state test scores considered to be poor and the lowest SAT scores in the Houston area. Also in 2006 Dan Feldstein of the Houston Chronicle wrote: "By many measures, North Forest ...

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5304-400: The TEA to also reconsider the closure of their district. In March Scott said he would give NFISD another year to correct its problems. Edna Forte, the superintendent, later said that state officials had nonetheless already made up their minds to have the district closed no matter what gains she made. In February 2013, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams said that the one-year reprieve

5406-420: The all-important principle of a fearless and honest newspaper. This I intend the Chronicle shall always be, a newspaper for all the people, democratic in fact and in principle, standing for the greatest good to the greatest number, championing and defending what it believes to be right, and condemning and opposing what it believes to be wrong. Such have always been the policies of the Chronicle and to such it

5508-413: The assets included a high school and athletic facility scheduled to be built with $ 80 million in state funds. Spencer said that the district would likely sell any unused property. Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokesperson, said that state officials would ensure that HISD did not have too high of a burden placed on it. In July 2013 the district started a 45-day cleanup effort of NFISD campuses. Terry Grier ,

5610-517: The buyout of Foster as follows: Wanting to be liberal with Foster if I bought him out, since he had created the paper and originally owned most of the stock, and had made a success of it, I thought for a while before answering and finally asked him how much he owed. He replied, "On real estate and everything about 200,000 dollars." I then said to him that I would give him 300,000 dollars in cash, having in mind that this would pay his debts and give him 100,000 spending money. In addition, I would give him

5712-529: The coverage of its summer free meals program to North Forest. On July 1, 2013, Grier posted a message on Twitter stating that "75 percent of North Forest's school buses were unsafe to drive" and therefore the district was required to tow these buses to a maintenance barn. Portions of the NFISD attendance zone were added to the Houston Independent School District trustee zones 2 and 8. The next scheduled board election for those two districts

5814-574: The district "clings to isolation" despite its proximity to Downtown. Helen Wheatley, who served as the Houston Federation for Teachers staff representative for NFISD, said then that while the community was an "urban area", the NFISD zone "[had] a country feeling to it". Until its dissolution NFISD was the poorest district in Harris County. During a period when NFISD received $ 1,711 per student in property taxes, nearby Deer Park Independent School District received $ 7,021 per student despite having

5916-434: The district and "security violations" related to TAKS testing. Also around 2007, the average SAT score of high schoolers in the district, 748 out of a possible 1600, was among the lowest in the state. Eight of the district's 11 schools received the TEA rating "unacceptable." That school year a teacher of "technology applications" did not receive any working computers until March. NFISD was rated " academically unacceptable " by

6018-554: The district began removing its items from the headquarters. The previous district headquarters had opened in 1964. It was damaged in Tropical Storm Allison in 2001; the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts stated that the 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m) facility was destroyed as a result of the flood. Langstead Elementary, which had been constructed in 1968, was used as a temporary administration building. By 2003 NFISD

6120-612: The district issued $ 46.9 million worth of the approved bonds. It used $ 5 million to refund older bonds at a favorable interest rate and the remainder to construct B. C. Elmore Middle School, East Houston Intermediate School (now Hilliard Elementary School), Keahey Intermediate School (Marshall Early Childhood Center at the time of NFISD closure), and Shadydale Elementary School. In 1999 voters approved another about $ 40 million NFISD bond. In June 2001 Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston, damaging six NFISD schools. Forest Brook High School sustained heavy damage; it, Lakewood Elementary School, and

6222-443: The district trying to create a positive impression in the media. The state again monitored the district in 2001. Ericka Mellon of the Houston Chronicle wrote in 2007: "The story has been the same for years in this small, poor, mostly black school district in northeast Houston: Financial problems, shoddy recordkeeping and low test scores prompt sanctions from the state. Employees get indicted on criminal charges. The school board fires

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6324-514: The district-operated schools, NFISD residents were eligible to apply to YES Prep Schools 's North Forest campus. After spring 2008 the district combined Forest Brook High School and M. B. Smiley High School into North Forest High School , initially located at the Forest Brook campus. The district headquarters at the time of closure was at 6010 Little York Road. One week before the July 1, 2013 closure,

6426-511: The editorship and/or the MEFO-column contracts on six months' notice, and that, if I canceled both the column and the editorship, I would give him an additional 6,000 dollars a year for life. I considered the offer substantially more than the Chronicle was worth at the time. No sooner had I finished stating my proposition than he said, "I will take it", and the transaction was completed accordingly. In 1937, Jesse H. Jones transferred ownership of

6528-459: The end of its first month in operation, the Chronicle had a circulation of 4,378—roughly one tenth of the population of Houston at the time. Within the first year of operation, the paper purchased and consolidated the Daily Herald . In 1908, Foster asked Jesse H. Jones, a local businessman and prominent builder, to construct a new office and plant for the paper, "and offered [a] half-interest in

6630-504: The fact that one of their reporters had been cheating for years under their noses. In many instances over the course of years, Loeb worked directly with Ward and even rewrote his stories for final publication. The Austin American Statesman , where Ward worked as a reporter for 25 years covering the state's political class prior to joining the Houston Chronicle in 2014, also conducted an internal review of "his final years" of work at

6732-438: The federal courts. Because of the issues, many parents in the NFISD area enrolled their children in state charter schools or moved out of the district area. Senfronia Thompson , a Texas House of Representatives member serving portions of the NFISD area, pointed out in 2013 that in the early 2000s state laws had been changed, making it easier for the state to close poorly performing school districts, such as Wilmer-Hutchins and

6834-469: The first time that the paper's Austin bureau chief, Mike Ward, had resigned and was the subject of an internal investigation after questions were raised by a staff member over fabricating sources. Barnes opted not to disclose the source-fabrication or Ward's resignation to Chronicle readers and the general public until she was contacted by reporters at other outlets pursuing a story about the Chronicle ' s scandal—one full week after Ward had resigned. By

6936-450: The growth to the changes instigated by Steven. In the summer of 1965, Jones decided to buy a local television station that was already owned by the Houston Endowment. He resigned from the Houston Endowment board to avoid a conflict of interest, though he remained as publisher of the Chronicle . On September 2, 1965, Jones made a late-night visit to the Steven home, where he broke the news that

7038-522: The impacts of rapid economic growth on life in the city. It did not perform investigative journalism. This resulted in a stodgy newspaper that failed to capture the interests of newcomers to the city. By 1959, circulation of the rival Houston Post had pulled ahead of the Chronicle . Jones, a lifelong Democrat who organized the Democratic National Convention to be in Houston in 1928, and who spent long years in public service first under

7140-576: The merger of Houston's National Bank of Commerce, in which Jones had a financial interest, with another Houston bank, the Texas National. In 1964, the Chronicle purchased the assets of its evening newspaper competitor, the Houston Press , becoming the only evening newspaper in the city. By then, the Chronicle had a circulation of 254,000—the largest of any paper in Texas. The Atlantic Monthly credited

7242-593: The neighborhoods of East Houston , Northwood Manor, Dorchester Place, Royal Glen, Fontaine, Scenic Woods , Melbourne Place, Kentshire, Henry Place, Baker Place, Glenwood Forest, Royal Oak Terrace, Houston Suburban Heights, Warwick Place, Chatwood Place, Townly Place, Wayside Village, and Settegast ) and parts of unincorporated Harris County, including Dyersdale . The area is about 20 miles (32 km) from Downtown Houston , and south of George Bush Intercontinental Airport . Jan Jarboe wrote in 1986 in Texas Monthly that

7344-534: The new school year began, Ivory Mayhorn, the head of a group campaigning for the salvation of the district, accused the TEA of discriminating against North Forest. The United States Department of Justice still had to approve the closure. In February 2012, Robert Scott, the TEA commissioner, reconsidered a proposed closure of the Premont Independent School District and decided to let that district stay open for one more year. NFISD officials asked

7446-453: The newspaper as a down payment, with twenty years to pay the remainder. Jones agreed, and the resulting Chronicle Building was one of the finest in the South." Under Foster, the paper's circulation grew from about 7,000 in 1901 to 75,000 on weekdays and 85,000 on Sundays by 1926. Foster continued to write columns under the pen name Mefo , and drew much attention in the 1920s for his opposition to

7548-589: The now-defunct Houston Post , Marcellus E. Foster. Foster, who had been covering the Spindletop oil boom for the Post , invested in Spindletop and took $ 30 of the return on that investment—at the time equivalent to a week's wages—and used it to fund the Chronicle . The Chronicle ' s first edition was published on October 14, 1901, and sold for two cents per copy, at a time when most papers sold for five cents each. At

7650-555: The offices of the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Houston . The Houston Chronicle building in Downtown Houston was the headquarters of the Houston Chronicle . The facility included a loading dock, office space, a press room, and production areas. It had ten stories above ground and three stories below ground. The printing presses used by the newspaper spanned three stories. The presses were two stories below ground and one above. In

7752-480: The paper to the Hearst Corporation. On May 1, 1987, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Houston Chronicle from Houston Endowment for $ 415 million. Richard J. V. Johnson, who had joined the paper as a copy editor in 1956, and worked up to executive vice president in 1972, and president in 1973, remained as chairman and publisher until he retired on April 1, 2002. He was succeeded by Jack Sweeney. In 1994,

7854-511: The paper to the newly established Houston Endowment Inc. Jones retained the title of publisher until his death in 1956. According to the Handbook of Texas online, the Chronicle generally represented very conservative political views during the 1950s: ... the Chronicle generally represented the very conservative political interests of the Houston business establishment. As such, it eschewed controversial political topics, such as integration or

7956-450: The paper. A copy of the original story that led to the investigation has been removed from the Chronicle ' s website. But Austin-based NPR affiliate KUT interviewed Ward for the radio in the days after the story ran and still has the story posted on its website, despite the fact that the sources used in Ward's reporting are suspected of being fake. On July 21, 2014, the Chronicle announced that its Downtown employees were moving to

8058-421: The perceived quality of the schools. After desegregation, many white families moved to other communities along U.S. Highway 59 , such as Aldine , Humble , and Porter , and African-American families became the majority and gained political control of NFISD. By the late 1970s it was one of the largest black-run school districts in the state; on October 12, 1989, it became the largest. In the 1970s Billy Reagan ,

8160-748: The post office may close. The Houston Independent School District serves East Houston. North Forest High School is the sole zoned high school. Until July 1, 2013, North Forest Independent School District served East Houston; that district was formerly named the East and Mount Houston Independent School District. See also: List of companies in Houston See: List of colleges and universities in Houston [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Texas portal 29°50′24″N 95°15′18″W  /  29.840°N 95.255°W  / 29.840; -95.255 This Houston -related article

8262-595: The school district for malfeasance. His discoveries included misappropriation of federal grants by the Special Education Director, Dr. Ruth Watson, who had subsequently been reassigned by the board while retaining her full salary, and that the Vice President of the Board of Education for NFISD, Allen Provost, had a personal relationship with one of the special education teachers. From 2008 to 2011, North Forest ISD

8364-477: The school districts in urban areas in Texas NFISD had the highest concentration of ex-prison inmates. As of 2010, NFISD had 7,410 students. 68.6% of the students were black, 30.8% were Hispanic, .5% were white, and .1% were Asian or Pacific Islander. 100% were classified as economically disadvantaged. At that time the district had more than 1,050 employees. In 1980 80% of the students were African American. In 1989

8466-522: The state had a priority in getting rid of a dysfunctional school system at all costs. The state was in Nightmare on Elm Street X , and they didn't want to see Freddy Krueger come back to life again." On April 29, 2013, the North Forest ISD school board defied a TEA order to fire its teachers in anticipation of its absorption by HISD. Texas Rangers were sent from Austin to investigate. In May 2013, as

8568-416: The state had closed. The district had the highest March 10, 1986 TECAT (Texas Examination of Current Administrators and Teachers) failure rate of any large school district. 25% of the district's administrators and teachers did not pass. In 1997 an editorial appeared with the title "Clouds hover over northeast Houston district again". Graduation rates, test scores, and financial record keeping improved during

8670-459: The state would allow Humble to annex NFISD, but no action resulted. In 1979 NFISD area residents discovered that a proposed landfill had been misrepresented to them by developers as a housing development. The landfill was about 1,400 feet (430 m) from the NFISD administration building, an NFISD high school, the NFISD sports stadium, and an NFISD track field. At the time the high school did not have air conditioning. Seven NFISD schools were within

8772-421: The student body consisted of mainly urban working-class people. It was overwhelmingly African American. In 1996 the enrollment at NFISD began a steady decline. The district had 13,132 students in the 1993-1994 school year and 11,699 in the 2001-2002 school year, an 11% decline over a nine-year period. During the 2001-2002 school year, 2,837 students attended the two NFISD high schools, while their combined capacity

8874-463: The sudden annexation and renovation costs, and the state intended to cover those costs and give HISD a further $ 35 million for at least the following five years. The HISD furniture service department auctioned off items from closed NFISD schools in May 2014. The NFISD territory covered 33 square miles (85 km) of land in northeast Harris County , including small parts of northeast Houston (including

8976-411: The superintendent of HISD, said that the district safety issues at North Forest would require HISD to spend $ 3 million. The district used TEA funding to renovate the campuses. Isa Dadoush, the former HISD general construction manager, said that the poor condition of the NFISD campuses was proof that the takeover was the best outcome. HISD began holding summer school for NFISD students, and extended

9078-525: The superintendent. The district might improve some but then falls again." Joshua Benton of The Dallas Morning News wrote the same year: "[i]n many ways, its schools are to Houston what the since-closed Wilmer-Hutchins schools were to Dallas : the ones that were always in trouble." John Sawyer, the head of the Harris County Department of Education , also compared North Forest to Wilmer-Hutchins, another predominantly black school district, which

9180-489: The tenure as district superintendent of Carrol Thomas, from 1988 to 1996, but the district began to decline again after he left to become superintendent of the Beaumont Independent School District . In a 2006 article Todd Spivak of the Houston Chronicle described NFISD as "a prime example of how inconsistency can wreak havoc on schools". In the five years before 2006 NFISD had four superintendents, and

9282-592: The then superintendent of the Houston Independent School District , considered bringing North Forest into his district, but the Texas Education Agency told him that desegregation laws made it illegal for two minority-population school districts to merge. In addition, area residents wanted to maintain local control of their schools. According to Reagan, he also asked the superintendent of the Humble Independent School District to check whether

9384-528: The time Barnes informed the public about what would turn into the biggest journalism scandal of 2018, it had already become one of the worst kept secrets in Austin among the capitol press corps that writes about Texas politicians. The scandal had also become popular fodder among staffers who work at the capital. Within 45 minutes of being contacted by a freelance reporter for the Texas Observer , Barnes hastily issued

9486-540: The transportation department had a total of 162 vehicles. See also: List of companies in Houston East Houston East Houston is a community in Houston , Texas , United States . The City of Houston Super Neighborhood #49 East Houston opened on August 24, 2000. The United States Postal Service operates the East houston Post Office at 9604 Mesa Drive. In July 2011 the USPS announced that

9588-525: The very conservative views of the Houston Endowment board, especially when he editorially supported the election of Lyndon B. Johnson , the Democratic candidate for president. However, more than political philosophy was involved: Robert A. Caro revealed in his biography of Johnson that written assurance of this support from John T. Jones had been the price demanded by Johnson in January 1964 in return for approval of

9690-452: Was 5,875, giving a classroom usage percentage of 48%. On March 18, 2003, the district had 11,217 students, fewer than the expected 11,650. From 1997 to 2007 the student population decreased by 35%, to below 9,000 students. In 2011 NFISD operated nine schools. The district's facilities included one early childhood center, five elementary schools, two middle schools, one ninth grade center, one charter school, and one high school. In addition to

9792-401: Was considering as the site of its new headquarters a 250-acre (100 ha) plot of land across from North Forest High School's main campus (formerly M. B. Smiley High School). Around 2003 the board approved construction of a new administration building. In October 2007 its headquarters were at 6010 Little York while its Office of Communications was located at Langstead. The foyer was renovated at

9894-423: Was consistently ranked "academically unacceptable" by the Texas Education Agency . It was placed on probation in June 2008, and on July 31 the TEA dismissed the school board, which was approved by the state on October 15. The TEA stated that in the year leading to July 2008 the district did not meet payroll and that several banks had denied the district short-term bridge loans . The board members decided to appeal in

9996-495: Was in 2015. Dianna Wray of the Houston Press wrote that "the voters of North Forest have gone from having an entire board elected directly by them to a situation in which they won't have any say in who represents them for the next three years." Silvia Brooks Williams, a former NFISD board member, said that HISD ignored an effort to add two board seats for North Forest and to give NFISD residents their own HISD representatives. For

10098-421: Was over and ordered the closure of North Forest ISD and recommended its annexation by Houston Independent School District by July 1, 2013. Houston Independent School District board members discussed how a takeover might be implemented; Dianna Wray of the Houston Press wrote: "It seemed as if all nine of them were choosing their words carefully, making it clear they were only following state orders." Gayle Fallon,

10200-441: Was retracting a total of eight stories. Barnes later went on to tell Columbia Journalism Review that the widespread fabrication apparent in Ward's articles was unprecedented, in her experience: "I've been an editor a long time and I have never seen anything like this, period.". None of the Chronicle ' s editors responsible for overseeing Ward's stories—including then-managing editor Vernon Loeb—assumed any responsibility for

10302-433: Was the largest school district ever closed by the TEA. Opinions varied on whether it was a "historically black" district, and therefore also the largest historically black district in the state to be closed; Kimberly Reeves of the Houston Press noted that the district had not been predominately African-American in the segregation era and remained majority white since desegregation , into the 1970s. In May 2013 HISD held

10404-501: Was to be closed by July 1, 2012. The state said that the Houston Independent School District would absorb the NFISD territory. Paula Harris, president of the HISD board, said that HISD did not advocate for the outcome, but that it would be willing to accommodate the students. Paul Bettencourt , the Harris County tax assessor-collector and later a member of the Texas State Senate , said that a handover to HISD would be beneficial for

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