Yes. Recent research by the Environmental Protection Agency suggests that a school's physical environment can play a major role in academic performance. Leaky roofs and problems with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems can trigger a host of health problems — including asthma and allergies — that increase absenteeism and reduce academic performance. Research links key environmental factors to health outcomes and students' ability to perform.

In HISD, parents have a wide range of options in choosing a school for their children to attend. This makes it more difficult to predict future enrollment for schools in HISD than in other school districts.

However, history tells us that when HISD opens new schools, the neighborhoods they serve tend to embrace those schools. This is especially true when these schools offer rigorous instruction, quality teachers and strong campus leadership. The last two new comprehensive high schools that HISD opened – Chavez and Westside – are full with more than 2,600 students each. Reagan High School, which was fully rebuilt in 2007 with a capacity for 1,781 students, now enrolls 2,000 students. The number of students transferring into Reagan (about 950) is triple the number of students transferring out of the school.

No. Many of the schools that HISD will rebuild under the 2012 bond program wil be rebuilt with lower capacity than their current campuses. These decisions were based largely on multi-year enrollment trends.

HISD's overall student enrollment has remained relatively constant for 20 years. In the 1991-1992 school year, HISD's enrollment was 197,413 students. In 2011-2012, HISD had 203,066 students. For the 2015-2016, school year, total enrollment is more than 215,000 students. Unlike many urban school districts in America, HISD's overall enrollment is growing.

As with the 2007 bond program, all new schools in the 2012 program will be designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building standards. These facilities will be energy efficient and environmentally responsible, resulting in lower operating costs for the district.

Administrators, in conjunction with each school's Project Advisory Team, will look at the best ways to phase construction to ensure student learning is not disrupted during the construction phase. In some cases, students may be relocated to other district-owned facilities during the construction work. In addition, the district plans to eliminate/limit the use of temporary buildings for swing space needs during construction. The cost of providing short-term temporary buildings can be better spent to improve our school facilities.