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Houston ISD state-appointed board, with 5-4 vote, approves $2.1 billion budget for 2024-25 – Houston Public Media
Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles interacts with staff members during a school board meeting on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
Houston ISD’s state-appointed board of directors, after hearing from more than 100 students, parents, teachers and community members who spoke out against a proposed $2.1 billion operating budget that doubles down on reforms implemented by the Superintendent Mike Miles narrowly voted to approve it late Thursday night.
In a 5-4 vote, the managers’ closest since they and Miles were appointed a year ago by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, the board signed a budget for the 2024-25 academic year that includes an expanded of the New Educational System (NES). The model includes pre-designed lesson plans, a greater emphasis on discipline and test-based performance assessments, and increased teacher pay.
Eighty-five of HISD’s 274 campuses operated under the NES model in 2023-24, and 45 more schools will come under that umbrella in the fall. Miles said there is “sufficient evidence” that his NES model improves student proficiency, citing recently released standardized test results which showed that higher percentages of HISD students met grade-level standards in his first year as superintendent. Middle, high school and elementary school students on NES campuses demonstrated greater rates of improvement, according to Miles, although lower percentages of these students met STAAR standards compared to other schools in the district.
“I think you will find that our system is the best way, the most effective way to get the results we want,” Miles said before the vote.
RELATED: Houston ISD’s STAAR scores for high school students, while improving, remain below state scores
Michelle Cruz Arnold, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Rolando Martinez and Adam Rivon were the councilors who voted against approving the budget, which according to state law could have been amended and resubmitted to managers at the end of this month. None expressed opposition before the vote, although Rivon said he wondered how the NES reforms would be phased out after these schools — most of which are historically low-performing campuses in low-income communities of color — improved their ratings.
Board members Janette Garza Lindner and Angela Lemond Flowers, while voting in favor of the budget, questioned Miles about whether non-NES schools would have adequate supports and whether the two groups of schools and the HISD community at large were being pitted against each other. other.
Earlier, during the sometimes contentious meeting, in which the board of trustees called two brief recesses because the public made comments while Miles spoke and division superintendent Orlando Riddick repeatedly said “scoreboard” in reference to the district’s STAAR scores, a stream of Community members criticized Miles’ leadership and urged managers to reject the budget proposal.
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Duncan Klussmann, a former Houston-area superintendent who is now an assistant clinical professor at the University of Houston’s College of Education, told Houston Public Media before the meeting that the NES model was designed to improve standardized test scores. He also said it is not determined whether the system will help students achieve greater success after they graduate.
“I know that a large amount of money has been transferred from non-NES schools, like where my children go to NES schools,” said HISD parent Carlos Goenaga. “I’m not sure why they want to spend so much money on an unproven system like the NES. If you were there today, you would hear many parents, former teachers, and current teachers talk about all of the shortcomings of the NES. I don’t know why he would want to spend even more money on this when schools with proven track records are getting less money.”
Although NES schools in HISD are projected to have 23,000 fewer students next year than non-NES campuses, according to data released by the district, is allocating an additional $27 million to these campuses, or an additional $2,500 per student. The district administration attributed the discrepancy to higher teacher salaries and greater special education needs on NES campuses, where there are about 1,000 more special education students.
Miles said average teacher salaries districtwide will increase from $68,250 this year to $77,300 next year, with the average teacher salary on NES campuses increasing to $84,400.
Although teacher salaries will increase and HISD has budgeted more than $1.2 billion for teacher compensation, eliminated teaching positions and other staff roles in an attempt to close a $528 million funding gap. Teachers and principals were also forced to resign or terminated because of performance, triggering community protests.
RELATED: Spring Branch ISD to cut 215 positions amid $35 million budget deficit
The budget deficit is the result of declining enrollment in recent years, the end of federal pandemic relief funds and the fact that Texas lawmakers have not increased per-pupil allocation for public schools since 2019, all of which have contributed to budget deficits. in other states of Houston. districts in the area.
Among the HISD jobs that were cut are engaging campus-level experts, dedicated professionals who helped students with unmet needs such as food, clothing and health care. Instead of having comprehensive specialists in every school next year, HISD plans to save $14 million by having 48 specialists at the district level while utilizing its eight Sunrise Centers, which provide many of the same services.
Kenneth Williams, a member of the Kashmere Gardens community and founding director of the Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council, said he does not believe HISD will be able to adequately meet the needs of its most vulnerable students without campus professionals. Therefore, he urged the board of directors to keep them on staff and at the same time asked them to vote against the budget proposal, which they almost did.
“Now you’re taking some people and trying to help them solve problems across, what, 270 school campuses?” Williams said. “It’s ridiculous. It won’t work.”