Houston ISD Accepts $7.5 Million for Performing Arts High School

HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston ISD Board of Trustees voted 7-2 Thursday to accept a $7.5 million donation for the HISD’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and to rename the campus for the donors.

The Kinder Foundation, run by billionaire couple Richard and Nancy Kinder, offered the donation in exchange for calling the campus the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

The donation will help with rebuilding the school downtown, and will fund theater lighting and seats, a sound system, a specialized dance floor, and other features of the specialized school.

"We hope these joint and cooperative efforts preserve the long-term future of one of Houston's most acclaimed and diverse schools and forges a new path through public/private partnership to support future HISD schools," Rich Kinder said in a statement.

The Kinder Foundation’s donation is the lead gift for a $10 million capital campaign raising funds for the new arts high school under construction downtown.

Although HISD adopted a policy allowing this kind of naming opportunity in November 2015, renaming the school after local billionaires Richard and Nancy Kinder was a source of controversy for some.

With the Kinder gift and other commitments, HSPVA Friends is looking to raise just $1.83 million more, according to the Houston Business Journal

HSPVA’s new downtown campus received $80.2 million from HISD’s $1.89 billion bond election in 2012, but additional funding was needed for build-outs, enhancements, equipment and furnishings.

The campaign also will provide for ongoing equipment maintenance and programming.

Image via Shutterstock