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HISD teachers, parents voice opposition to possible TEA takeover at community forum

Many who spoke at the forum called it a hostile move and said a TEA takeover would damage students more than it would help them or their teachers.

HOUSTON — Houston's NAACP and several local organizations held a community forum Monday to give the community a chance to voice its opposition to the Texas Education Agency possibly taking over Houston ISD.

Many who spoke at the forum called this a hostile move and expressed a TEA takeover would damage students more than it would help them or their teachers. 

“There need to be more options on the table for one," said HISD parent Marlynn Jones. "We just can’t just walk in and take over a school, especially a school that has made progress.”

"They may be shutting the school down and may be moving us here and maybe moving us there," said Wheatley High School senior Andrea Walker. "So a lot of people are more mad about it, but it’s not too much we can do. It's up to the district and the board. So we have to leave it up to them and pray that we don’t get shut down.”

An HISD teacher who attended the forum said she and her fellow colleagues are scared. 

"We don’t know the future," said Arnetta Murray. "We don’t know if we’ll have a job. We don’t know anything, and that’s not fair."

Community leaders said they have called on the TEA to have a meeting with them and to host a town hall so the agency can directly hear from the people who would be impacted the most about the possible takeover. 

So far, there has been no confirmation on if and when that will take place. 

Houston Maor Sylvester Turner made the announcement on the TEA takeover threat last week and said the decision could be "imminent."

The only thing the TEA has said is it's continuing "to review the Supreme Court's decision in order to determine next steps that best support the students, teachers, parents, and school community of the Houston Independent School District."

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