Most HISD schools are at capacity, if not beyond, and no end is in sight. Demographers say crowding will persist across HISD for years to come. Projections for the year 2000 forecast almost 230,000 HISD students in a heavily minority district, with the greatest growth to come in the apartment-rich neighborhoods on the southwest side of the city. According to HISD figures, two dozen elementary schools already have twice as many students as they were designed for, and one, Cunningham, is at three times its intended enrollment. Toilets spring leaks three times as fast as they should.
Door hinges work loose three times as fast.
Kitchens have to crank out three times as many meals as they were designed to. Playground equipment gets three times the wear. As recently as 1991, it was struggling with 1,400. Many more students had desks in portables than in the school's 16 regular classrooms. Life at the school was again manageable.