They paint it as a referendum on Terry Grier.
He’s not on the ballot, but Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier is a key figure in next month’s school board elections.
Grier has led the state’s largest school district for two years – winning fervent fans and foes – and the newly elected trustees will have to decide whether to extend his tenure or cut it short.
“Voters will be taking a strong look at the programs and the state of the district when they make their decision,” said Zeph Capo, an officer with the Houston Federation of Teachers union. “Whether that’s good or bad for Grier, we’ll see after November 8th.”
Four of the nine school board seats are up for election, and the fate of the incumbents could determine Grier’s future. His contract runs through 2012 and automatically extends another year unless the board gives him notice by Dec. 1, 2012, that it wants to sever ties.
For the most part, the candidates are not saying whether they will vote to extend or sever. None of them gave a straight up yes or no in any of the interviews I did:
Rhonda Skillern-Jones
Juliet Stipeche
Manuel Rodriguez
Ramiro Fonseca
Paula Harris
We did talk about plenty of other things, as there is more to these races than just this one issue. I don’t think we’ll have a clear picture on this until a lot closer to the December 2012 deadline. School Zone has more.
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