More than 130 parents, teachers, students, and community members signed up to speak at Houston ISD’s last board meeting. This was the first meeting held since voters rejected HISD’s $4.4 billion bond proposal at the ballot.
Board Secretary Angela Lemond Flowers said at the beginning of the meeting that Flowers and the rest of the board were “disappointed” with the defeat of the bond.
“We are proud to put the board on the ballot for the voters to consider,” she said. “We fundamentally believe our students deserve the chance to get the needed help, safety, and building quality upgrades proposed by the bond. We will charge ahead to continue to serve them to the best of our abilities with the facilities we have. We are focused on moving forward in partnership with the Houston community to do everything we can for every single HISD child.”
Speakers said the bond’s failure was due to the district leadership’s failure, especially its state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles’s lack of community engagement. Some asked for him to step down.
Unofficially, the bond could be considered a referendum on HISD leadership. For several months, opponents of the bond took to social media or spoke at these board meetings to highlight a lack of trust in Miles.
The board members reflected on the criticism from community members regarding engagement by scoring themselves 1 out of 10 on “advocacy and engagement” and zero on “synergy and teamwork” on its annual self-evaluation. Out of 100, the board scored itself 53.
What leaders said
State Representative Jolanda Jones said the bond election results equated to Miles’s and the appointed board of managers’ collective failure.
“The unelected Republican-appointed board of managers are acting like straight dope fiends, begging for $4.4 billion to fuel your addiction to destroy HISD and public education after losing the bond fight,” Jones said. “Because we fought your millions with our hearts, you’ve resorted to stealing and selling off HISD assets, including 19 properties, and wasting taxpayer dollars on armored cars.
“We don’t trust any of you or your plans. You all need to go. We’ll fight unrelentingly to kick you out of HISD.”
Savant Moore, who serves on HISD’s Board of Trustees and represents District II, recommended to the board members that further school closures or “co-location” plans be excluded from the next bond.
“My community is tired of being on the menu. We want a seat at a table on your next bond proposal. We’ll take politics out when you take the business out because it’s funny that two school properties that you have for sale now were supposed to be CTE.”
– Savant Moore, HISD Board of Trustee
Jones and Moore referred to HISD’s plans to declare 19 properties surplus and put them up for sale to cover part of the district’s budget deficits. Several of these buildings are elementary schools like Brookline and Chatham that are now closed, while two were set aside as career and technical education (CTE) centers within the bond proposal.
Houston Education Association President Michelle Williams said the bond was beaten by “people power” that stemmed from a grassroots effort.
Board votes to end Fondren Middle School IB designation
The board also voted to end Fondren Middle School’s International Baccalaureate designation when principal LaKia Jackson said only two students attend the school as IB students. The school has also been unable to provide IB programming since the 2021-22 school year.
“In the best interest of my students and my community, that’s why I want to move forward. We’re focused on high-quality instruction, and so none of the students that possibly knew about the IB status are there anymore,” Jackson said.
The school has a majority-minority enrollment of 840 students (98.7%), with 68.3% Hispanic/Latino and 28.9% Black or African American students.
Jackson added the school currently does not have any IB-certified teachers.
Miles chimed in about the right instructional program for students at the school.
“What is the interest of the community to have an IB?,” he said. “What we do in the profession often is we think if we build it, they will come. I’ve seen so many schools, not just in HISD, I’m talking about in our profession where the kids are struggling, they’re way behind in proficiency, or the community as a whole. They think if you build an IB program or offer AP classes, that will bring up the achievement. That generally does not work. One of the things that concerns me is if it continues, will the kids come?”
