Cruz for District VIII
Challenger for HISD seat vows transparency while Dávila faces open-meetings allegations.
Houston Independent School District does not need more of the same in its leadership. The embattled district must move away from the dysfunction that has tainted the current school board, from the in-fighting and public squabbles that have left its reputation in tatters and taken focus away from the needs of students.
State intervention, triggered by Texas law when Phillis Wheatley High School failed in yearly accountability ratings, will likely result in a state-appointed board of managers. But voters must also do their part by electing trustees who are well-prepared to guide the district no matter what is ahead.
In HISD’s Board of Trustees District VIII, which includes the East End and some of the city’s top performing schools, that means rejecting incumbent Board President Diana Dávila.
A Texas Education Agency investigation found that Dávila made false statements to state officials during an inquiry into potential violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act in late 2018, when she and other trustees unsuccessfully tried to oust Interim Superintendent Grenita Latham. Dávila also faces accusations of improperly interfering in district vendor contracts.
Dávila, who declined to participate in a candidate screening by the editorial board, has denied wrongdoing, but the allegations and her role in the board’s missteps would only be a distraction.
Her opponent, Judith Cruz, 44, brings a commitment to rebuilding trust and transparency, as well as experience as a classroom teacher and in an educational nonprofit, DiscoverU. She began her career with Teach for America, and went on to teach ESL at Lee High School (now Wisdom) in HISD, and at Liberty High School, where she was a founding teacher.
Cruz’s time in the classroom, working with students learning a new language and working full-time jobs while attending school, provides valuable insight into the challenges facing HISD as it strives to elevate student achievement.
She understands that the next elected board will be seated at a difficult and uncertain time in the district, but she also believes improvement is possible.
“I’ll hear trustees say there is so much out of our control, that the problems are at a school level, that kids live in poverty and they come to school with so many challenges, which is true,” Cruz, whose three children attend HISD schools, told the editorial board. “But if trustees are singularly focused on the task at hand and have set goals that are aligned with the vision of the superintendent, we can absolutely move the needle for kids.”
Cruz acknowledges that many in the HISD community are understandably angry at the notion of state intervention — a situation she attributes to decisions made by previous trustees. However, she also believes that the anger and frustration should be channeled into “holding whoever is in that place accountable, whether it’s an elected trustee or appointed board of managers. We should be infuriated and upset that kids are being shortchanged of their potential, and of a high-quality education.”
We agree. It is time for a change in HISD. We recommend Cruz for Board of Trustees District VIII.