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HISD Board Updated on Progress of

Construction and Facility Services

Significant improvements being made in department as a

result of independent auditOctober 7, 2010 Today, at a meeting of the HISD Board of Education, trustees received aprogress report from the districts Construction and Facility Services Department. In the last fewmonths, there have been major leadership changes within the department, including a merger inAugust which combined the Facility Management Department with Constructions Services.

Also over the summer, the Council of the Great City Schools released an independentaudit reviewing HISDs facility services and capital services programs. The results of the audithave prompted significant changes at the district.

We invited the Council of the Great City Schools to perform the review because weknew we had some problems and concerns, said HISD Superintendent Terry B. Grier. Wewant to be accountable, transparent, and ensure taxpayers that we take our fiduciary duty

extremely seriously.Earlier in the summer, the Bond Office reported that the 2007 Bond Program had a $37

million budget shortage. Superintendent Grier ordered a detailed outside review of the bondprograms budgets and reported today that the original report was erroneous and that the bondprogram has funds allocated to cover these additional costs. The district will be able to meet itscommitments based on the original scope of the work and project budgets.

In addition, at todays meeting, General Manager of Construction and Facility Services,Issa Dadoush, outlined to board members some of the changes that have occurred in hisdepartment. There has been talk of excessive overtime costs in the past, but I want to assureeveryone that the department is adequately staffed and we have cut overtime by 55 percent andreduced costs by 5 percent while increasing services to our schools, said Dadoush, who was

hired by HISD in May after working for the city of Houston.Dadoush also outlined other changes in his department, including the implementation of a

high-performance organizational structure, the creation of development and training programsfor employees, the re-establishment of a preventative maintenance program, the establishment ofprocess controls for school initiated contract construction, and improved customer focus andcommunications.

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Other changes will be taking place over the next several months, including theestablishment of a planning office and the development of a business plan and a long-rangefacilities master plan.

I applaud the efforts of Mr. Dadoush and Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla (whoalso joined the district in May) for all the changes they have made in the districts Facilities and

Construction Management Department, said Board President Greg Meyers. Their efforts falldirectly in line with two core initiatives of the districts Strategic Direction, which are data-driven accountability and creating a culture of trust for both our internal and externalstakeholders.

The Houston Independent School District is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largestin the United States with 298 schools and more than 200,000 students. The 301-square-mile district isone of the largest employers in the Houston metropolitan area with nearly 30,000 employees.

For more information, visit the HISD Web site at www.houstonisd.org.

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