CYPRESS, Texas — Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Superintendent Mark Henry sat down with KHOU 11 to discuss some of your concerns from our back-to-school survey.
The interview was held inside a brand new administration building that's named after him.
“It’s a real honor," said Dr. Henry. "I never anticipated that.”
He's set to retire in the middle of the year, which will be his 13th year with Cy-Fair.
"This is my 42nd year in education," said Henry.
We asked him about the biggest challenge in 2023.
"Number one, funding," said Henry. "The state has not provided adequate funding to meet the mandates they require, nor have they kept up with inflation.”
Mandates include safety and security measures many families brought up in KHOU’s back-to-school survey.
Amanda, who is a parent, wanted to know how the district can make sure children are safe in school.
"In all honesty, we’re a decade ahead of the state,” said Henry.
He said Cy-Fair has installed controlled access, security vestibules and panic buttons in classrooms, thanks to previously passed bonds. But he admitted making sure there’s an armed officer on every campus, which is a new requirement, maybe a struggle with a limited applicant pool.
"And we estimate in order to fulfill that it would cost us $9 million," said Henry. "We already spend in excess of $42 million just in safety and security, every year.”
Adding routes and adjusting bell times are ways the district is dealing with a bus driver shortage, which plagues many districts.
“I think that requires about 75 fewer bus drivers by doing that," said Henry. "But, having said that, we’re still 100 bus drivers short.”
Catherine, another parent, wanted to know what Cy-Fair is doing to retain teachers and attract new ones.
"Well, we’re one of the highest-paid school districts in the state and certainly in the region,” said Henry.
He said he is also less reliant on alternative certification programs to gain qualified teachers.
Regina wanted to know if the district plans on banning books or removing books from libraries.
"We have a district process we’re working on right now and it’ll be in conjunction with new state laws, so the state will help advise us,” said Henry.
Crosby ISD and some smaller area districts recently went to a four-day school week. That's something Henry said would be much harder to implement in a much larger district.
Cassandra asked if Cy-Fair would ever consider it.
"I would say, with me here, no,” said Henry. "Other districts have to make their own decisions, but here, I think five days is appropriate.”
While Henry may be retiring, he told us he has no plans to stop advocating for public education.
“I’m a strong believer that every kid, every child that’s born or comes to this country deserves an equal opportunity to achieve the most that they can be," said Henry. "And I think we’re losing some of that.”
Cy-Fair ISD welcomes students back to school on Monday, August 28.
Watch Dr. Henry's full interview in the video player below:
Other superintendent chats we've done this year.
What do you want to know about your district and what education coverage would you like to see from KHOU 11? Let us know with the survey below!