What is HISD board’s future?
Inquiries persist about its fate; here are some possible explanations
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath came to and left the Greater Houston area Thursday without addressing one of the biggest issues on his agenda: the fate of Houston Independent School District’s school board.
In the coming weeks, Morath likely will be forced to decide whether to replace all trustees governing Texas’ largest school district or close one of HISD’s most historic campuses, the consequence of historic Wheatley High School failing to meet state academic standards for a seventh consecutive time. While Morath was in no mood to discuss the looming decision following the release of academic accountability ratings Thursday — he hurried out of an Aldine ISD school without answering questions or making a statement on HISD — a review of comments by the commissioner, his top deputies and state education leaders offers insight into the likely process.
Barring a successful appeal of Wheatley’s grade, which became public Thursday, Morath is widely expected to strip power from the nine HISD trustees and appoint a new board of managers comprised of Houston-area residents. The process likely would take multiple months to complete, with a replacement board seated sometime in early 2020.
“These are not going to be people that live in Austin,” Morath told the Houston Chronicle in the spring of 2018, when asked about
the possibility of a state-appointed board taking control of HISD. “These are going to be well-qualified people that live in Houston that just didn’t want to run for school board before, but they wouldn’t mind being appointed.”
In light of the looming state intervention in HISD, home to nearly 210,000 students and 280 campuses, here are answers to the most common questions swirling about a replacement school board:
Q: Why is Morath “widely expected” to oust HISD trustees instead of closing Wheatley?
A: To date, Morath has not definitively stated he would prefer replacing HISD’s school board over shuttering schools, though he hinted at it last year.
“I’m not sure (school) closure is, in fact, the best option in Houston,” Morath said at the time, cautioning he wanted to see academic accountability results for chronically low-rated schools before making a decision.
Morath’s top lieutenant in Houston, A.J. Crabill, echoed the commissioner’s comments at a town hall meeting last year.
“We have to look beyond statemandated closure as a panacea in this particular instance,” said Crabill,
who served as the Texas Education Agency deputy commissioner of governance until this summer, when he became a special adviser to Morath. “I don’t say that out of an unwillingness to use that as an option. I say that from someone who’s gone to the campuses and doesn’t see that it actually moves the ball forward for those students.”
In addition, several state legislators working in education circles have stated they think a replacement board is imminent.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and member of the Senate Education Committee, declared earlier this month he is “nearly 100 percent certain” that HISD’s elected board will lose control, either through chronically low ratings at schools like Wheatley or a state investigation into allegations of misconduct by trustees. State Rep. Dan Huberty, a Humble Republican and chairman of the House Public Education Committee, spoke at length Thursday about HISD’s governance issues while giving no indication that Wheatley is at risk of closure.
Q: Who would serve on a replacement school board?
A: TEA officials have not named any potential state-appointed board members or announced a process of identifying candidates. State law dictates that, if possible,
a replacement board must include “community leaders, business representatives who have expertise in leadership, and individuals who have knowledge or expertise in the field of education.”
Ultimately, Morath is responsible for picking board members. When discussing the possibility of a replacement board in HISD last year, Morath said the agency would contact local leaders before finalizing any selections.
“We look for people of character and ability with sort of diverse backgrounds to try to provide the right team to help govern an institution that has more than 20,000 employees and spends over $2 billion a year and has 200,000 kids that they’re charged with improving outcomes for,” Morath said last year.
Several Houston-area leaders have implored Morath to select a board that reflects the region’s ethnic and racial diversity. In addition, some Democrats and education advocates have expressed concern that Morath, who is appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, could choose managers with more conservative political leanings. All nine current HISD board members are Democrats.
In a statement Thursday, the president of Houston’s largest teachers union, Zeph Capo, said his organization fears “their agenda
will be focused on the unbridled privatization of our public schools.” Supporters of a state-appointed board have argued the district’s leadership needs to be replaced because of its inability to raise student achievement at chronically low-performing schools.
Q: What powers would a board of managers have?
A: State-appointed board members would assume all the power currently held by the district’s elected trustees. Those responsibilities include hiring and firing the superintendent, approving the HISD’s budget and setting district policies.
State law dictates Morath would choose HISD’s superintendent from the outset of the board’s appointment, though the new managers could later tap their own leader for the district. Morath could permanently retain HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, who has held the position since March 2018, but he has not commented publicly about her chances.
Q: When would a replacement board take power?
A: TEA leaders have not publicly set a timeline for seating a board. However, if HISD had triggered the state law resulting in a replacement board in August 2018, Morath estimated it would have taken over by January 2019. A similar timetable likely remains in place for January 2020.
Q: How long would a state-appointed board remain in place?
A: In other Texas districts, boards of managers typically have held power for two to five years — a time frame outlined in state law. Within two years of seating appointed managers, the TEA commissioner is required to announce the board’s exit date, with a plan to gradually phase in elected trustees. The commissioner can extend the board’s appointment for up to two years if “insufficient progress has been made toward improving the academic or financial performance of the district.”
Q: What happens to elected trustees during this process? And will there still be school board elections in November?
A: Even after a state-appointed board is seated, elected trustees retain their positions. However, they have no power until they are phased back onto the board.
As a result, voters will still cast ballots in four HISD trustee races set for November. Eleven candidates have filed to run ahead of Monday’s deadline to declare candidacy. None of the four incumbent candidates have announced plans to seek reelection.