Houston Chronicle

HISD takeover views

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Regarding “Opinion: How will the state takeover affect HISD students? Here’s the research,” (March 3): What a surprise! Extensive research shows that, ultimately, state takeovers do more harm than good. This is a political move. It takes little common sense to know that lower-performing students cost more to educate because education is labor- and time-intensive. It is often because of their economic and/or social situations that they lack the informal pre-school education most of us take for granted. There are few parents who do not want the best for their children. This includes the best education. We, as the community in which they will perform as adults, have much to gain to see that their early education prepares them to have the best opportunit­y to succeed.

Christine Eheman, Houston

The Texas Education Agency’s spring cleaning with the takeover of Houston ISD is long overdue. Enough of the rinse and repeat of school and district underachie­vement and mediocrity. Leadership starts at the top. It is the moral obligation of the TEA to take action. As the Bard wrote: “Beware the Ides of March.”

Bill Pond, Humble

Regarding “Politics behind proposed HISD takeover, not benefits to students, Hidalgo says,” (March 4): I’m puzzled why the state is not releasing its plans to improve Houston’s schools given the threat year after year to take them over. When no alternativ­es are presented to the public and the stakeholde­rs, the lack of a published plan suggests the proposal is more political and rhetorical than practical.

Why is the state not making suggestion­s to solve specific district problems? Hint: Money solves a whole lot of problems. HISD spends about $10.5K per student. My former suburban Chicago district spends about $22.8K per student, for comparison.

To those complainin­g about property taxes, the state of Texas ought to ramp up the state’s share of money committed to education if they expect to compete. Working people should not have to settle for low-wage jobs because of a lack of investment in both lower and higher education. And higher wages means being better able to fund such investment­s.

Mary Tegtmeier, Spring

The TEA might have a reason to take over HISD if even 10 percent of the schools were failing, but because of one school, which once was failing but now is now passing? That is no justificat­ion for a complete takeover. Maybe HISD should tell the TEA to take over one school and show us how to turn a high-poverty school into a well-educated group of students without more money and while using underpaid, stressed-out teachers.

I taught eighth grade in a Title I school in another state. Students ranged from overachiev­ers to those with third-grade English vocabulary and reading skills. Grading papers was a nightmare. Some of the questions on standardiz­ed tests make no sense. If you aren’t fluent at guessing, you probably won’t pass. Limited vocabulary and societal issues make testing a waste of time.

This country bases most everything on the bell curve. Apparently, HISD, with only one failing school, was messing with the curve.

Vouchers are not the answer to a good education. Nor is an angry governor who wants to be the decider-in-chief for anything that the money men want him to do.

Cynthia Van Auken, Houston

HISD, unfortunat­ely, set this up years ago with some very dysfunctio­nal trustees. However, it seems that the current board of trustees is doing pretty well. So you are left with a conundrum: to take over or to not take over. I think if anyone knew what a takeover actually looks like at the school, classroom or student level, one could have a somewhat informed opinion. But it doesn’t look like anyone knows what might happen, beyond that the current elected board gets replaced by an appointed board. It probably means there will be a new superinten­dent as well; just another go-around on the superinten­dent merry-go-round. The future is fraught for HISD for sure.

Walt Lind, Nassau Bay

 ?? Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photograph­er ?? Houston Independen­t School District Superinten­dent Millard House II delivers his second State of the Schools address on March 3.
Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photograph­er Houston Independen­t School District Superinten­dent Millard House II delivers his second State of the Schools address on March 3.

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