In a move that highlights their continued engagement with the district’s affairs, a few of Houston Independent School District’s elected trustees organized a virtual meeting to meticulously examine red flags on the agenda for the upcoming school board meeting scheduled for Aug. 10.
The virtual gathering, spearheaded by the ousted trustees, sought to shed light on potential concerns within the school board’s agenda and foster transparency in the decision-making process. With the board of managers now overseeing the district, the former trustees are determined to ensure that the educational welfare of students remains a top priority.
“We aren’t here to retaliate against the board. We want to make sure you all are informed about what’s going on with HISD. This is purely for us as a community,” said Myrna Guidry, former HISD trustee. “Majority of these items are already on consent, which means they will automatically be going to vote on them without any discussion.”
While the former trustees no longer hold official positions within the HISD governance structure, their dedication to the district’s success remains resolute. By hosting this virtual meeting, they seek to advocate for transparent decision-making, effective resource allocation and the equitable distribution of educational opportunities.
“There is less oversight under the guise of efficiency making everything ambiguous,” said Elizabeth Santos, former HISD Trustee. ” If I can’t trust this man (Mike Miles) with my tax dollars, how can I trust him with my son?”
A few of the concerns include HISD’s goal to increase minimum purchasing limits, a decision that would permit HISD Superintendent Mike Miles to spend up to $2 million to make purchases in the district fast and efficiently. The current policy states that any purchase the district makes that is at least $100,000 requires approval from the school board.
Another is the approval to waive board policies and approval of proposed revisions, changes to the district’s code of conduct, and approval of certification waivers for certain teachers.
“We’re giving too much spending power to individuals who can actually bankrupt this district,” said Kathy Blueford Daniels, former HISD trustee. “This is about the board of managers supporting the changes that are made to policies that we just recreated or just fine-tuned in 2022.”
The state-appointed school board is set to convene and deliberate on over 20 items at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10 at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., Houston, TX 77092).
In a show of support for librarians and libraries, community members have arranged a “read-in” protest at 4:30 p.m. on the same day. The initiative invites participants to bring a book and read in the lobby prior to the board meeting, demonstrating their solidarity.