Aldine Independent School District

In 1876, after a series of new education laws, Harris County authorized the creation of several school communities. Harris County School Community No. 1, the Westfield School Community, was established by W. L. Higgs, H. Illonefield and James McLeod on September 30, 1876. Harris County School Community No. 13, the Durdin School Community, was established by G. L. Durdin, Pleasant Smith Humble, and H. Smith on December 22, 1876. On November 18, 1881, the trustees of Westfield Community No. 1 (H. Tautenhahn, Redding Jackson and S. Yarborough) were authorized to sell off the old school house and one acre of land to pay for the construction of a new school house. In 1883, 38 students were being educated in the Westfield community, and 20 students in the Higgs community. On June 18, 1884, the Harris County Commissioners Court consolidated the local school communities (Higgs and Westfield) into one school district: Harris County Common School District 29. A single three-person board directed activities of the district for four decades. On February 19, 1910, a schoolhouse bond of $8,000 (for constructing and equipping a public free school building of wood material) was passed by the citizens. In 1912–1913, District 29 had three intermediate schools (grades 1–7): Aldine, Westfield and Higgs. It also had one high school that educated students in grades 8 and 9: Hartwell. The Westfield school was closed for the 1913–1914 school year. On June 18, 1932, District 29 residents voted 123-44 for a $40,000 bond to consolidate the four schoolhouses for white students (Aldine, Brubaker, Higgs and Westfield) into one new centralized school. This two-story brick building would contain 12 classrooms and an auditorium. It would house grades 1-7 and allow the district to offer high school classes (grades 8 and 9) for the first time since the Hartwell School had closed. When the 1932–33 school year began, high school students met at Memorial Baptist Church, located at East Montgomery Road (today's Airline Drive) and Gulf Bank. The new, as yet unnamed school opened in February 1933 at the intersection of Aldine-Bender Road and Aldine Westfield and immediately was filled to capacity. On May 25, 1934, the now-christened S.M.N. Marrs School graduated its first class, consisting of nine students. S. M. N. Marrs was named for Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs, who served as the state superintendent of public instruction for Texas from 1923 to 1932. Roughly a year later, in the spring of 1935, District 29 absorbed part of Common School District 49, also known as the North Houston District. On May 4, 1935, voters in Common School District 29 approved creation of the Aldine Independent School District by a 128 to 28 margin. This new building opened in 1936 next door to the Marrs School on Aldine-Westfield Road. It too was named S.M.N. Marrs. Aldine ISD acquired part of Common School District 26, also known as the White Oak District, in 1937. This added portions of Acres Homes to Aldine ISD. Included was the White Oak School, which became the district's school for black students. In the spring of 1948, Aldine ISD opened another high school located immediately to the north of S.M.N. Marrs High. This school was named Aldine High School, after the nearby community. The former Marrs High School was turned into a junior high school. On November 24, 1954, the main building of Aldine High School was destroyed by a six-alarm fire. A new high school campus was built in 1956 at 11101 Airline Drive at West Road on the site of the former Gulf Coast Airport. As of January 1, 1956 Aldine ISD still included parts of Oak Forest, the area north of Brickhouse Gully and West of White Oak Bayou, Katherine Smith Elementary was part of Aldine ISD. In 1958 residents in Oak Forest complained to the Harris County School Board that Aldine wasn't doing enough for their area and they wanted out, Houston ISD schools were closer was a reason given. On September 17, 1958, the county school board ruled for the residents and said Aldine ISD had to cede 3 square miles of Oak Forest and Langwood to HISD. Desegregation In 1964, George Franklin Sampson attempted to enroll his children at Aldine High School. The district denied his request and informed him that his children were required to attend Carver High School, the district's black school. Sampson filed a lawsuit against the district, Sampson and the United States v. Aldine Independent School District, arguing that Aldine ISD's separate schools for black students were illegal. The court ruled in favor of Sampson, requiring the district to integrate its schools. In 1977, although Aldine ISD was almost 75% white, the district still had several schools which were all black. As a result, the district was placed under a federal court order to redraw attendance zones so that every school in 1978 would have less than 30% black enrollment. In 2023 the Aldine ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to use the power of eminent domain to seize the home of Travis Upchurch, 79 years old and lifelong Aldine resident, to expand their high school football stadium parking lot. The property has been in Upchurch's family since 1916 and has housed five generations, including his great grandfather and his children. After months of his family and the community fighting the district dropped their pursuit, conveniently right before elections where a majority of the board's seats were being contested. This story made national news including the New York Times and the Bobby Bones Show as well as making it in the news in Africa, Australia and Hawaii. == Recognition ==