HOUSTON — As your Education Station, KHOU 11 is making sure you know as much as possible about the Texas Education Agency's takeover of Houston ISD. That includes streaming four public meetings hosted by the TEA.
Wednesday's crowd at the TEA’s second public meeting on the state takeover of HISD continued to demand answers from Commissioner Mike Morath and Gov. Greg Abbott.
The meetings were led by TEA Deputy Commissioner Alejandro Delgado, who was quickly shouted down by the crowd at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Delgado was attempting to discuss the application process for a state-appointed board of managers, which would replace the elected board of trustees, but the crowd didn’t seem interested in listening.
He said of the nearly 200 questions the TEA received at Tuesday’s meeting, about half of them were about the board of managers process. The other half, according to Delgado, were mostly general questions about what happens next.
Delgado barely got to begin his presentation on the application process before the audience took over the meeting, calling for answers from the agency’s top official and the governor.
"The people had everything to say. And that was to me is very powerful," said HISD teacher Nelva Williamson.
Williamson has been an HISD educator for more than 40 years and said teachers should have a say and be part of that board.
"If I applied to be on the board of managers, I would have to resign," she said. "That's not what I want to do because I love teaching. I love what I do every single day."
At Tuesday’s meeting, Delgado said they have already received around 138 applications for the board of managers.
On Wednesday, Delgado said the board of managers will be accountable to the community and will be made up of Houstonians. The board of managers, like the elected board of trustees, will be unpaid.
The deadline to apply for the board of managers is April 6 and Delgado said the TEA is aiming to have appointed the positions by June 1.
He said the state agency is looking for a board of local Houstonians that reflects the diversity of HISD.
Two more meetings are scheduled for the following dates:
- March 29 at Delmar Stadium
- March 30 at Kashmere High School
Each meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed by KHOU 11.
Wednesday's full meeting can be watched below:
