Ex-HISD leader leaving NYC schools, too
Nearly three years after he unexpectedly resigned as Houston ISD superintendent, stunning the city’s education and political communities, Richard Carranza announced Friday that he planned to step down as chancellor of New York City public schools.
The New York Times reported that Carranza’s departure followed clashes with his boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, on several fronts, including efforts to accelerate desegregation efforts and reform the district’s gifted and talented programs.
At a press conference Friday, Carranza also said he “quite frankly needs to take time to grieve” after losing 11 family members and close childhood friends to COVID-19.
“I don’t know what’s next for me, but I know I will take the spirit and richness of New York City with me anywhere and everywhere I go,” Carranza said in a statement.
Leading up to his announcement, Carranza’s prospects for remaining in the job long-term appeared grim. At a recent candidate forum, none of the seven New York City Democratic mayoral hopefuls running to replace the term-limited de Blasio committed to keeping the incumbent chancellor if elected in November, according to the New York Daily News.
Carranza’s abrupt resignation in 2018 also stemmed in part from disagreements with his bosses: the HISD board of trustees.
In an interview with The Atlantic following his arrival in New York City, Carranza criticized the lack of changes to HISD’s campus funding model and magnet system, arguing
that both systems needed reforms that would benefit Black, Hispanic and lower-income students more. In a notable parting shot, Carranza said “it seemed like people just didn't have the stomach to take the fight” in Houston following his departure.
While Carranza pitched new policies on both fronts during his 18-month tenure here, some trustees argued his ideas were hastily drawn and lacking in detail. HISD administrators have made minor tweaks in the past three years to the district’s magnet system, eliminating admissions requirements for some middle schools. The district’s campus funding model essentially is unchanged.
Carranza is expected to leave his New York City post on March 15.
Barring an unexpected development in the next few weeks, Carranza’s three-year stint in the Big Apple will be shorter than the tenure of Grenita Lathan, the interim superintendent HISD trustees chose in March 2018 to fill his spot.
Lathan has remained HISD’s interim superintendent through a highly unusual chain of events.
For the entirety of Lathan’s tenure, HISD has remained under the threat of severe state intervention,
including the potential ouster of the district’s school board, largely because of chronically
low academic ratings at Wheatley High School. HISD trustees were slow in 2018 to begin a superintendent search, partially because some did not want to hire a new leader if state officials were on the brink of replacing the board.
In March 2019, trustees were on the brink of hiring a permanent superintendent. However, a state-appointed conservator ordered board members to stand down. In court records filed this week, lawyers for the Texas Education Agency said the move was done to “stabilize district leadership and conserve district funds.”
TEA officials moved in November 2019 to strip power from all HISD trustees, citing a seventh consecutive failing grade at Wheatley, multiple findings of misconduct by board members following a state investigation and a conservator’s continued presence in the district. However, a Travis County judge issued a temporary injunction halting the board’s ouster in January 2020.
After a 10-month lull, trustees voted in November 2020 against removing Lathan’s interim tag and decided to start another superintendent search. Board members hope to name a lone finalist for the job by May or June, though state officials continue to fight in court for the right to replace HISD trustees.