The takeover board of managers has voted unanimously for all of Miles’ harmful policies so far. They are heavily influenced by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath who can replace them at any moment, Lone Star Governance trainer AJ Crabill, Superintendent Mike Miles, and other actors who have been meeting with them behind closed doors.
The managers may or may not listen to us, but we must speak up and then hold them to account. The ten takeover board of managers community meetings start tonight and continue through Sept. 20th. The format changed. No microphone. You can line up at tables to speak with one of the three takeover board members who attend.
On Thursday, speak at the board agenda review meeting at 5:00pm. To speak, you must sign up by noon on Wednesday. Click here for step by step instructions or at https://youtu.be/ePUVTRQf1ls to register to speak.
The takeover board of managers will be voting on some items this week and some next week.The agendas are once again different than what was posted on Sunday (93 pages) and different than each other. Here is the current Board Agenda Review 9.7.2023 (46 pages)
Item 1 on 9/7 agenda: (business agenda) Miles wants HISD to be a District of Innovation (DOI.) Most school districts that have adopted DOI have done so to waive the state’s uniform start date of the fourth Monday in August. The state legislature should have changed the start date for schools to be any day in August. Instead, in a continuing effort to dismantle public schools, they wrote the district of innovation law.
Here is a good summary of DOI and how a more appropriate name would have been districts of exemptions. DOI can exempt a school district from everything from class size limits to certification requirements for teachers to other important due process rights for parents and teachers.
Miles has proven that he will stop at nothing to eliminate rights to protect parents, students and teachers.
Item 2 on 9/7 agenda Because a judge granted an injunction in Houston Federation of Teachers’ lawsuit over HISD’s alleged illegal teacher evaluation system, Miles may have to delay his plan to pay teachers based on test scores plan and a forced curve. Since Miles is modifying the T-TESS teacher evaluation plan, there is much in it that will harm teachers and students alike including using benchmark scores to rate teachers.
You can also speak about items to be voted on next Thursday. These items should be listed on the Sept 7 agenda but you have to go to the Sept 14 agenda to find them. The posted agenda for 9/14/2023 is here (58 pages.)
In yet another assault on transparency and the public’s right to know, the item numbers and the agenda itself may change, so please check the agenda again on Monday after 5:30 pm.
Item 6 on p 12 for now: ELECTIONS: Let’s remember that our right to vote for people to represent us has been taken away because our elected board of trustees only have ceremonial power.. Not only is this takeover an education disaster, it is an egregious voting rights violation and, if left to stand, will be a harbinger of things to come across the nation. If you want to speak about democracy, here is a good spot.
Item 8 on p 27 for now of 9/14 agenda: Last month the board voted unanimously to raise the threshold for board approval from $100k to $1M. Miles now has blank check writing authority for contracts under $1M and the public will have no opportunity to provide input.
Item 9: Tax rate approved by the unelected board of managers. Note the compression.
Item 11 on p 51 for now of 9/4 agenda: This is a change to board policy about reassignments. Miles is defining how teachers can be placed in the “excess pool” in the event “a program change, current projected staffing needs based on the master schedule, school closure, or consolidation. Since he has been spending money like a drunken sailor, he will close schools next year in communities that need a school the most.
Under item 12, Miles indicates that teachers with contracts placed “in the excess pool” can be terminated. He is essentially trying to turn every teacher into an at will employee. Parents, please stand up for teachers so the best remain in Houston.
This is our opportunity to speak, in public and in front of the media about the harm being done to our children, our teachers and the future of public education in the fourth largest city.
Our last couple of emails can get you up to speed.
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No school is exempt from Miles' unhinged rules for classroom instruction (8/31/2023)
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Days before school opens, Miles causes even more chaos (8/24/2023)
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Miles is a narcissist, don't give him grace (8/16/2023)
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