I sure wonder what the process to sort through all of these will be.
More than 370 people applied for nine spots on the board that will govern Houston ISD, wrapping up the first step in the Texas Education Agency’s intervention of Texas’ largest school system.
Education Commissioner Mike Morath will oust elected trustees and appoint a new superintendent and a nine-person board of managers by June 1, according to the agency, a process that some critics say has been marred by distrust from the beginning.
“Everything that has happened so far has been done in the dark,” said Dr. Audrey Nath, an HISD parent who did not apply for the position. “They have been dodging questions or not showing up to our meetings.”
Applicants for the board of managers include 232 current or former HISD parents, 136 former students and 238 teachers, according to the state agency, which released the numbers on Friday afternoon. The racial breakdown includes 40 percent Black, 33 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian applicants.
The agency said it will now screen applicants with background checks, community reference checks, training and interviews. Candidates must live within the school district boundaries, according to officials.
“I am looking for Houstonians with wisdom and integrity who can be laser-focused on what is best for students,” Morath said in a written statement. “It is exciting to see so many Houstonians express a willingness to help move the school system forward in service of students.”
After getting appointed, the board of managers should improve student outcomes by “representing the vision and values of the community,” according to a job description posted online by the state agency. Roles include monitoring and supporting the superintendent, engaging with community members and creating governance systems that will ensure a smooth transition back to local control, according to the state agency.
According to the TEA, the ideal board of managers will reflect the ethnic, racial and economic diversity of the school district and include some HISD parents, community leaders and people with backgrounds in public education, social work, counseling, business, finance or law. The board members will ideally live throughout the nine existing trustee districts.
In 2019, when the state agency first attempted to take over HISD, there were 243 applicants for the board of managers, including several elected trustees.
Current board members did not respond to inquiries about whether they had submitted applications this time.
Emphasis mine. Just for yuks, the actual racial and ethic demographics of HISD are 62% Hispanic, 22% Black, 10% White, and 4% Asian. Just a wee bit off in the applicant pool there. The story doesn’t mention the economic breakdown, but I’m going to step way out on a limb here and guess that the applicant pool is considerably wealthier than the average HISD parent is. As that same page notes, 78.5% of HISD students are “economically disadvantaged”. Just putting it out there. None of this means that the Board itself will necessarily be un-representative. But they’re not off to a great start.
Also not mentioned in the story: What the process is for picking those “ideal board members”, how long it will take, and what recourse if any the public will have if they find a particular Board member to be objectionable. Oh, and are these people expected to serve the entire two-to-six years of HISD’s sentence, or are there term limits? If so, what is the process for replacing a Board member? Do they just go back to the original applicant pool, or can someone new apply? So many unanswered questions.
The racial statistics you quote for HISD are for the student population who chose to attend public schools. The population figures for adults, for citizen adults, and even for all students who live within the boundaries of HISD (including private school and home schooled kids) would be quite different. Thus the applicant pool is fairly reflective of adult citizens living within HISD boundaries, with some underrepresentation for Hispanics. Not sure if the managers have to be US citizens to serve.
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