In 2005, Alief became home to many Hurricane Katrina evacuees. More than 3,000 evacuees enrolled in Alief ISD schools. Alief ISD spent $12 million to accommodate Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2005. The United States government promised to reimburse the district, but in 2006 Alief had not yet received the money. Many of the students who were displaced by the hurricane were academically behind their Texas peers. In 2006, former United States President George H. W. Bush and Houston Mayor Bill White led a fundraising campaign to help Alief ISD and other districts pay for educating the displaced students.