HSPVA to be renamed after Kinder Foundation donates $7.5M

New campus will be downtown Houston

HOUSTON – Trustees with the Houston Independent School District on Thursday chose to accept a $7.5 million Kinder Foundation gift for the High School For Performing and Visual Arts in Houston.

The school will be re-named Kinder HSPVA.

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The gift will pay for construction upgrades and equipment for the school, according to a news release.

The trustees voted 7-2 to accept the gift. Construction is currently underway on the new campus in downtown Houston.

Some of the upgrades will include: an orchestra pit lift, a mini-theater complete build-out, music practice rooms, and state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment.

Trustee Michael Lunceford, whose district includes the current HSPVA campus, brought the gift forward for consideration by the board. Lunceford also will resign effective immediately. He was elected to the board in 2009.

The school’s new campus at 790 Austin St., was approved in 2012, as part of a $1.89 billion bond package.

Also Thursday, the Board of Education awarded construction contracts for two high schools also funded through the bond program, the release said.

Barbara Jordan High School for Careers will transition from a career magnet school to a regional career hub. Students there spend half their day at their home school, and the other half at Jordan — engaging in a career-based curriculum. The new building will give 600 to 800 students the chance to experience this real world-based learning environment.

Officials said the new facility should be done in time for the 2018-19 school year. Cadence McShane Construction will handle the $28 million contract.

Applications for the Barbara Jordan Career Hub currently are being accepted from 10th-grade students zoned to Northside, Furr, Kashmere, North Forest, Heights, Sam Houston, Washington, Wheatley, and Yates high schools.

Scarborough High School also will undergo major renovations. DT Construction will handle the $9.8 million job. Construction there should be wrapped up by the 2017-18 school year.

At Scarborough, students are offered industry certifications before they graduate in retail management, HVAC maintenance/repair, or computer administration and networking. Students also can prepare for careers in the military through its Army branch of the JROTC.