Protests have erupted in Texas’ largest school district as parents contest recent layoffs announced by the district owing to a budget shortfall.
The protests
At least three protests organized by Houston ISD (HISD) parents took place this week— one of them was outside Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School, where around 200 parents and student protesters advocated for principal Auben Sarabia, who was given the option to resign or be terminated.
“I have watched Mr. Sarabia turn that school from a place that people in the neighborhood were afraid to send their children to a place where literally EVERYONE in the neighborhood wants to attend. It’s a place where teachers want to work,” an HISD parent, Stacy Tinis Anderson, wrote to the school district in support of Sarabia. “MPVA has a reputation for having experienced, long-tenured staff because he is an excellent boss. He services a diverse population both economically and racially. He created a place that kids want to come and learn. Every single morning, you can find Mr. Sarabia out front greeting his students. He knows all of their names. Such a seemingly small gesture, but also huge in the world of a child.”
She also discussed Sarabia’s support toward bilingual and immigrant families. Last year, he was selected as HISD’s Middle School Principal of the Year.
Parents carried placards that said, “Frequent Liar Miles,” “Miles has no moral integrity,” “Get Miles away from HISD,” and “Give my principal back,” among others, referring to Superintendent Mike Miles’ recent confirmation that layoffs still loom over HISD.
Earlier in March, he reversed his decision to use principal proficiency ratings to determine whether principals will be fired from their jobs in the 2024-25 school year.
The other protest took place at West Briar Middle School, where parents protested against Dr. Lea Mishlan, the school principal, being given the same choice of resigning or facing termination.
Over at Crockett Elementary, around 70 parents and several children staged a protest against HISD’s decision to remove principal Dr. Alexis Clark Vale, chanting “Who do we want? Dr. Vale,” or “¿Quién queremos? Dr. Vale” in Spanish.
What the district said
HISD issued the following statement with regard to its leadership changes:
“When making decisions about school leaders, the first – and in some ways, most critical – piece of data HISD evaluates is the quality of a school. In most cases, if a school has an A or B rating, that is a strong indication that the principal is creating the kind of learning environment students need. When a school is rated C or lower, it often means the school is not serving students well on a consistent basis. And where campuses are not meeting the needs of all kids, HISD must examine what is happening at the school. That starts with the school’s leadership.”
The school district maintained in its statement that decisions regarding contract non-renewals for principals are unrelated to HISD’s overall budget challenges and pertain only to the quality of instruction for its students.
HISD cited a $450 million budget shortfall due to federal COVID-19 relief funds or “ESSER dollars,” which funded certain positions, drying up. It will also use performance-based evaluations, one of the several overhaul reforms undertaken by HISD superintendent Mike Miles since his appointment by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to determine which teachers and principals will be asked to resign or risk termination. The school district is also facing declining student enrollment, and such campuses “may have had to adjust their staffing for next school year,” per HISD.
Chiefs from departments in the school district identified positions and programs that can no longer be funded, to be eliminated. HISD has not disclosed the exact number of teachers and principals who will be let go. However, the previous week, the HISD board of managers approved a nearly 20-page list of positions that were vulnerable to layoffs, including teachers, principals, wraparound resource specialists, custodians, and administrative jobs.
In a statement, HISD said, “In some cases, we hope principals who do not retain their current position for next school year will apply for assistant principal or other roles within HISD that will help the educator grow their instructional leadership.”
With regards to teachers, HISD maintains it did not cut positions to accommodate its budget. However, in Miles’ New Education System (NES) schools, the school principals made the decision to let go of teachers based on “data and classroom evaluation.”
According to the statement, “At the District’s 85 NES and NES-aligned campuses, principals used data to determine which teachers are eligible to continue working in the NES and will be retained in their current positions based on the school’s projected enrollment. “Employees who are not eligible to continue working in the NES but meet the requirements for non-NES positions in HISD are encouraged to apply for those available roles.”
HISD has acknowledged that leadership transitions are “disruptive” and said division leaders will work with impacted campuses to gauge the community’s priorities for the next school leader. It aims to conduct “surveys, community meetings, and opportunities over the summer to meet with incoming principals.”
