Latest news with #HoustonISD
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Houston ISD Superintendent's 5-year contract released following Board of Managers approval on Thursday
The Brief FOX 26 is learning new information regarding the amended contract for Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles FOX 26 obtained the contract via e-mail prior to the district's stated deadline of 5 p.m. Friday. According to the amended contract, Mike Miles will earn a new annual base salary of $462,000, which is an $82,000 increase in pay from his previous base salary. HOUSTON - We're learning more information regarding a 5-year contract that was approved for Superintendent Mike Miles by the Houston Independent School District Board of Managers on Thursday night. According to the contract, which was received around 4:30 p.m. by e-mail, Miles' new annual base salary will be set at $462,000, which is an $82,000 increase in pay from his base salary of $380,000 that was set on June 1, 2023. On top of the increase, the district will pay or reimburse the Superintendent for reasonable reimbursable expenses as determined and incurred by the Superintendent in the continuing performance of the Superintendent's duties under the contract, from funds budgeted for that purpose by the board. The contract states, "the district agrees to pay the reasonable actual and incidental costs incurred by the Superintendent for travel; such costs may include, but are not limited to, airline tickets, hotels and accommodations, meals, rental car, and other expenses incurred in the performance of the business of the district." According to the contract, Miles will also have access to a staff member, as reasonably available, to drive his vehicle or a District vehicle when the Superintendent determines it is necessary to the performance of his duties. The Superintendent may be reimbursed for travel in his car outside of the District at the District's approved reimbursement rate for travel outside of the District. Miles will also be eligible for incentive pay called "Performance Incentive Pay." Click here to view the full entire contract or you can view below. Click to open this PDF in a new window. The other side FOX 26 reached out to Jackie Anderson, President of Houston Federation of Teachers Local 2415, for reaction to the new contract. She said, "The HFT foresaw that Mr. Miles' contract would be granted when the most outspoken members of the BOM were removed from the board. They were "finally" no longer complicit. Miles has been given a nearly 100k raise to continue decimating HISD. He and the TEA will not leave until there is nothing left. Additionally, hundreds of teachers in HISD were terminated because they did not met certification requirements. Miles is not certified and he gets a raise. It's definitely not about children. Follow the money." The Source Information from Mike Miles contract obtained by FOX 26 and a statement from Jackie Anderson, President of Houston Federation of Teachers Local 2415.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Houston ISD Board of Managers approve 5-year contract for Superintendent Mike Miles
The Brief Current Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles has a new contract following a meeting on Thursday evening. The contract is for five years, according to a statement from Houston ISD Board of Managers President Ric Campo. The exact terms of the contract have not yet been released. HOUSTON - The Houston Independent School District Board of Managers have approved a five-year contract for current Superintendent Mike Miles. What they're saying According to a statement from HISD Board of Managers President Ric Campo, "Today, the HISD Board of Managers approved a new contract for Superintendent Mike Miles. With the recent release of STAAR exam results, it is clear that under his leadership, our schools and students are making extraordinary academic progress. The five-year term of the contract ensures that Houston ISD can continue its transformation for the duration of the state intervention, while allowing for continuity and a smooth transition when the District returns to local control. The new contract also maintains rigorous evaluation criteria and compensation that aligns the HISD superintendent position with comparable school districts in Texas. The HISD Board is proud of the incredible success of HISD students, and with Superintendent Miles' ongoing leadership, we look forward to continued progress." The contract comes after Miles was selected by Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath back in 2023. Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency announced they would continue their intervention of HISD until at least June 1, 2027. Commissioner Mike Morath was required to decide on the possible extension on the two-year anniversary of their intervention. Morath made the decision to extend the Board of Managers' authority until June 1, 2027. What we don't know The full terms of Miles' contract are not yet known as his contract will be posted to the district's website by 5 p.m. on Friday. The Source Information from Houston ISD Board of Managers President Ric Campo and previous FOX 26 reporting.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Houston ISD Faces Extended TEA Control Until 2027, New Board Appointed
(Texas Scorecard) – Houston Independent School District will remain under the control of the Texas Education Agency through at least June 1, 2027. Alongside the extended timeline, TEA also announced the replacement of four members of the state-appointed Board of Managers. TEA took control of Houston ISD in 2023 after years of chronic student underperformance and governance failures. The state replaced the elected school board, appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, and implemented a series of aggressive reforms. Since the takeover, Houston ISD has reduced the number of D- and F-rated campuses from 121 in 2023 to 41 in 2024, according to preliminary reporting. Despite progress, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath emphasized the need for continued state involvement to ensure long-term improvement. 'Houston ISD has always been a district with some of the highest performing schools in the country, but it was also a district that allowed some of its schools to fail students for over a decade,' Morath said. Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades. The extension of this intervention will allow the district to build on its progress and achieve lasting success for students once the board transitions back to elected leadership. To conclude the intervention, Houston ISD must eliminate all multi-year failing campuses, fully comply with state and federal special education laws, and demonstrate effective board governance. Earlier this year, Houston ISD spent hundreds of millions of dollars without the required board approval. Community reactions remain divided. Parent and advocacy groups praised the focus on student achievement, while critics have questioned the transparency of the appointment process and urged greater community input. The new Houston ISD Board appointees are: Edgar Colón: Legal expert and political science lecturer Lauren Gore: Harvard Law graduate and general partner at LDR Growth Partners Marty Goossen: Retired vice chairman of J.P. Morgan Private Bank Marcos Rosales: Trial lawyer at Beck Redden LLP Brina Morales, director of communications for the Greater Houston Partnership, celebrated the TEA extension, writing, 'Commissioner Morath is right to extend the period of reform to ensure these improvements take hold long-term, significantly impacting generations of students.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Education Agency extends Houston school district takeover through 2027
The state takeover of the Houston Independent School District will continue for two more years, the Texas Education Agency announced Monday. Education Commissioner Mike Morath had until June 1 to decide next steps for the state's largest school district, whose former superintendent and elected school board members were ousted and replaced in 2023 due to years of poor academic outcomes at a single campus and allegations of leadership misconduct. Since then, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has led the district, a controversial figure in Houston who has ushered improvements on state exams while struggling to win over community support. Still, Morath decided to extend the intervention until June 1, 2027, applauding the district for its improvements but citing the need for more progress. That progress, he said, will have to include no school campuses with failing accountability scores across multiple years, compliance with special education requirements and improved school board governance. Morath on Monday also announced the appointment of four new school board members, replacing four he selected in 2023. 'With the changes made in the last two years, Houston ISD is well on its way to being a district where all of its schools provide students with the educational opportunities that will allow them to access the American Dream,' the commissioner said in a statement. 'Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades. The extension of this intervention will allow the district to build on its progress and achieve lasting success for students once the board transitions back to elected leadership.' The Houston Chronicle first reported the extension of the takeover. Under Miles' leadership, the district has experienced extraordinary staff turnover and plummeting student enrollment. Miles, who inherited a district that for years ran an overall well-performing school system, has faced accusations of shepherding a militaristic educational environment where teachers have limited freedom to teach in ways they see fit and children are exhausted and disengaged from learning. Miles, on the other hand, has touted student improvement on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test, and progress in the district's A-F accountability ratings as proof that his model is effective, an achievement that Morath and state lawmakers have publicly commended. During the November election, Houston voters shot down a plan to approve $4.4 billion in academic and infrastructure improvements for the school district — the largest proposal of its kind in state history — which many saw as a litmus test for Miles' support. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unproven school board governance training in Texas is all hat and no cattle
Under the guise of improving academic outcomes, the Texas Education Agency has required some public school districts across Texas to adopt Lone Star Governance, a program that includes coaching and training for school board members. Texans who care about efficient government and local control should be concerned with the state's interference and how money is being diverted away from schools to well-connected consultants for an unproven and costly enterprise that is all hat and no cattle. According to the TEA, Lone Star Governance is a continuous improvement model, 'founded on research' and focused on 'improving student outcomes.' TEA has required the board of trustees in several districts — including Austin ISD, Fort Worth ISD and Houston ISD — to adopt Lone Star Governance to address various issues, from special education-related failures to persistent low performance on state standardized assessments. However, as education researchers, we are concerned that TEA is requiring public school districts spend public funds on an approach with no evidence of effectiveness. A TEA-created flyer claims that districts implementing Lone Star Governance saw, on average, a 10-point increase in accountability scores between 2018 and 2019, compared to 3 points for districts not using that model. The flyer does not indicate which districts were part of this calculation. However, according to information we obtained from TEA through a public records request, starting in the 2017-18 school year, 13 districts were formally engaged in Lone Star Governance. We were wary of drawing conclusions about Lone Star Governance from such a small group of districts over one year. So we tracked accountability score changes between 2018 and 2023 for all districts that had been involved in Lone Star Governance in 2018 and 2019. In this time, overall district accountability ratings for Lone Star Governance districts declined 12.4 points, a much steeper decline than those districts not using that model (7.4-point decline). The gap in average accountability ratings actually widened between districts using Lone Star Governance and those that didn't. In 2018, the average accountability rating in Lone Star Governance districts was only two points below other districts (84 vs. 86 points). By 2023, this gap widened to seven points (74 vs. 81 points). Several districts that were required to adopt Lone Star Governance five years ago are now facing potential state intervention because of a lack of progress on improving student outcomes. TEA required the program in Houston ISD, where trainees have characterized Lone Star Governance as 'a fear-based system of control' where 'any sort of independent thought is not tolerated.' Houston ISD's accountability rating has declined since its forced adoption of Lone Star Governance. Fort Worth ISD adopted Lone Star Governance in 2018, but, similarly, the district's state accountability ratings have declined. TEA has forced Austin ISD to adopt Lone Star Governance twice — first in 2016 and again in 2024. Yet, Austin ISD has not experienced substantial improvement in its state accountability ratings. The need for repeated training calls into question the effectiveness of Lone Star Governance and begs the question: Who is benefiting from this costly, unproven training? In 2024, Austin ISD was required to pay $60,000 to a national organization called the Council of Great City School (CGCS) for Lone Star Governance training and coaching. The person who leads CGCS's governance efforts — including facilitating Lone Star Governance workshops across the state — is AJ Crabill, a former TEA deputy commissioner who was appointed in 2016 by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath. Texas is unique in that the state has unilateral authority to require districts to spend funds on this unproven school board training. However, several districts across the United States have also adopted Crabill's governance training — nationally known as Student Outcomes Focused Governance. The effectiveness of this training in these districts is now under scrutiny, too. For example, Seattle Public Schools has spent approximately $300,000 on Student Outcomes Focused Governance and has seen little academic progress. Texans care about the efficient use of taxpayer dollars, especially when it comes to educating our state's children. Requiring already-cash-strapped districts spend public tax dollars on unproven training with zero evidence of effectiveness is the opposite of efficient. Instead, state interventions should prioritize proven strategies, such as evidence-based professional development for teachers and investments into mental health supports for students. Rachel S. White is an associate professor, and David DeMatthews is a professor of education, in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Required 'Lone Star' training isn't helping school districts | Opinion
