HISD plans partner talks
Deadline nears; surrender of 4 schools possible
After months with little public discussion about whether to temporarily surrender control over four long-struggling schools, Houston ISD officials are expected to start ramping up talks about any such plans as state-mandated deadlines quickly approach.
HISD administrators and trustees said they will meet after the Thanksgiving holiday to consider how they will approach the possibility of giving up control of the four campuses, which would stave off major state sanctions tied to chronically low academic performance at the schools.
The politically fraught option drew backlash from some community members in the spring, when trustees did not vote on Interim Su-
perintendent Grenita Lathan’s recommendation to give control of 10 campuses to a local charter school network, but district leaders say they remain open to employing the option before an early February 2019 deadline.
To date, administrators and trustees have not had extensive public conversations about if and how the district would approach surrendering control of the four campuses — even though the two sides have known since mid-August that HISD potentially faces sanctions if those schools remain under district authority.
If HISD does not hand over control of the four schools to an outside organization, and if any one of the four fails to meet state academic standards in August 2019, the Texas Education Agency must close campuses or replace the district’s school board.
“I wish that we could have started these earlier, but I still think it’s better late than never,” said HISD Trustee Anne Sung, who is helping to coordinate the post-Thanksgiving public meeting. “I think we’re starting to make some progress on having a timeline and plan for these conversations.”
The four campuses — Highland Heights Elementary School, Henry Middle School, and Kashmere and Wheatley high schools — have failed to meet state academic standards for at least four consecutive years, putting them at risk of triggering a 2015 state law that mandates sanctions for districts with campuses that repeatedly fall short. TEA officials have hinted that they prefer to not close schools, while HISD trustees and many civic leaders, including Mayor Sylvester Turner, have said they want HISD to remain under local control.
Law allows partners
Under a separate state law known as SB 1882, HISD could allow an outside organization — a nonprofit, higher education institution, charter school network or governmental entity — to take control of academics, governance and staffing at all four schools in exchange for a two-year reprieve on sanctions. The partner would take control ahead of the 2019-20 school year.
Supporters of employing an outside partnership have argued it could improve student outcomes and stave off punishment, while opponents have said it represents inappropriate privatization of public schools.
HISD originally considered private partnerships during the 2017-18 school year, when 10 campuses were in danger of triggering state sanctions. Following months of debate and community meetings, Lathan recommended that HISD allow Energized For STEM Academy Inc., a nonprofit that operated four in-district HISD charter schools, to run all 10 schools.
A vocal contingent of parents and community members, however, opposed the recommendation over several weeks. The backlash culminated at a raucous school board meeting in late April, when Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones ordered the audience to temporarily leave the meeting room following repeated interruptions, and two people were arrested on misdemeanor charges during an ensuing scuffle with HISD police. The charges were dropped the next day, and HISD trustees never voted on Lathan’s recommendation.
Ashton Woods, lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Houston and a critic of HISD’s plans earlier this year, said he expects renewed opposition to any private partnership recommendations for 2019-20.
“HISD may be in a position with certain schools that have it backed into a corner, but what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong,” Woods said. “They should be able to reallocate funds and reallocate teachers, take those things so that students will have what they need to not be (”improvement required”).”
Little public info
HISD administrators have provided little information to date about any district plans for private partnerships next year. Lathan said in August that HISD was considering whether to issue a request for proposals, but one has not been issued. By contrast, Beaumont ISD officials have solicited partnership proposals and received 28 applications to serve three of its schools in danger of triggering state sanctions, the Beaumont Enterprise reported last week.
No potential partners have come forward to announce interest in running the four HISD schools, though a civic coalition involving Turner’s administration still is investigating whether to form a nonprofit capable of taking control of the campuses.
At a late October board meeting, Lathan suggested that HISD trustees should offer more guidance on how to navigate the partnership process. Some trustees, however, have said Lathan’s administration bears the responsibility of crafting private partnership proposals.
“We can go out and engage, but I would need the board to make a decision as it relates to chartering those four campuses, and then we go out and engage the community about that,” Lathan said. “What we’ve heard from the community, and I don’t believe it’s changed since last March, is they do not want us to enter into a charter school agreement for those four campuses.”
HISD administrators did not grant an interview request for this story, saying they did not want to speak about the topic before the post-Thanksgiving public meeting.
Trustee Elizabeth Santos, who generally has opposed private partnerships, said HISD administrators and board members should have more transparent discussions after remaining relatively quiet over the past few months.
“My biggest concern is that I don’t want a repeat of April 24, and that seems to be what’s happening,” Santos said. “We’re going to be pushed into a corner where we limit our options. This has been staring us in the face since last year.”