Will you attend or speak at the HISD Board meeting tomorrow, Thursday (10/13) night at 5pm? The self-proclaimed “MAGA patriots” may be showing up in force to proclaim anti-teacher, anti-diversity, anti-student, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. To sign up to speak, you must register here by noon today. You will have one minute to speak.

Last week, out of the blue, HISD Trustee Kendall Baker asked the board for a vote of no confidence in the superintendent. No one seconded his motion. 

Baker and his supporters are actively anti-CRT(not taught in schools), anti-LGBTQ, anti-public education, and believe COVID was a hoax. Baker was elected by far-right Republican supporters including far-right mega-donorStephen Hotze. What could be the real reason behind Baker's move?

Recently Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Trustee Baker, who has no prior experience in public education, to a multi-state advisory board. The same day, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments about whether TEA could replace HISD’s democratically elected school board members with an appointed board. This takeover attempt by Morath and TEA has been halted in court multiple times previously- in Jan 2020, in Dec 2020, in 2021.

Poll after poll shows that parents support our public schools and the hardworking teachers who work with our children. Baker and the parents who come to HISD speaking their narrative of hate are in the minority.  The far right is trying to dismantle public education, by starving our schools of public funding, over-testing our children, and privatizing our schools. 

Let’s stand up for teachers, support public school parents, and public education. Most of the self-proclaimed “MAGA patriots” who have spoken at board meetings against public schools do not even have children in HISD.

To sign up to speak, you must register here by noon today. You will have one minute to speak.

The board agenda is here. Agenda items to which you can sign up are

• Choose A1 or K2 (Board Vision and Monitoring Goals update  to speak about support for public education, opposition to censorship, opposition to racism, opposition to the Eureka or Amplify scripted instruction with pacing that harms kids and even more district assessments than last year
• Choose K1 (District Advisory Council) to speak in opposition to the proposed two consecutive two-year term limits for parents, teachers and community members on the DAC. This would limit the ability of members to provide sustained input to HISD administration about its decisions. Suggest a longer term length such as three consecutive two-year terms.

If you are able, please attend the HISD Board meeting on Thursday at 5 pm to stand up for democracy and please vote for public education when you cast your ballot in the November elections.