HOUSTON — On Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency will be hosting its first community meeting after announcing its takeover of Houston ISD.
This will be one of four community meetings that will take place this month with representatives from their Governance and Operations teams.
The meetings are scheduled for:
- March 21: Westbury High School
- March 22: Chavez High School
- March 29: Hattie Mae White Center
- March 30: Kashmere High School
All meetings will start at 6:30 p.m.
KHOU 11 is your Education Station and is committed to streaming all four meetings across our digital platforms, KHOU.com, KHOU 11's YouTube channel, and on KHOU 11+ on Roku and FireTV.
The head of HISD’s teachers’ union said she and her colleagues plan to be at all of them.
“Parents that I’m speaking to, community members, are appalled,” said Jackie Anderson, President of Houston Federation of Teachers.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said as part of the takeover, he plans to appoint a nine-member board of managers to replace the current elected board and name a new superintendent by June.
Anderson is hoping that during the TEA meetings, officials will explain what this appointed board of managers will do differently to produce better outcomes.
“I also want to know what the process is and why this process didn’t involve input from the community,” said Anderson.
Anderson also wants to know if this new board, which Commissioner Morath has said will be made up of members living within HISD boundaries, will include educators.
“If it’s just business people, they will not have a pulse for what needs to happen in schools,” said Anderson.
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Anderson believes HISD is capable of handling schools on its own. She said schools have been improving since the takeover process started in 2019 thanks to a new superintendent and its nearly all-new board.
“What is the real issue here?” asked Anderson. “Because 154 districts in the state of Texas have a lower rating than HISD and they’re not on the list to be taken over, or should I say taken down, by the TEA.”
Morath told KHOU, under state law, when a school records five straight years of failing accountability ratings, the TEA is required to close that campus or appoint a board of managers to temporarily run the school district.
The TEA said it is receiving applications for the board of managers positions and will "have a firm number once the application window closes on April 6th."
If you are physically unable to attend the meetings, the agency said a virtual webinar will be available.
Anderson said she plans to invite Commissioner Morath to meet with teachers and community members at future town hall events.