It was a close vote, but as we kids used to say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
In their most divided vote taken to date, members of Houston ISD’s state-appointed school board on Thursday narrowly approved a $2.1 billion budget that slashes hundreds of millions of dollars in spending in 2024-25.
The unexpected 5-4 split on the district’s annual budget — one of the most important votes taken by a school board each year — marks a rare public disagreement between some board members and HISD Superintendent Mike Miles. The nine-member board and Miles, which were appointed to run the district in June 2023 as part of state sanctions against HISD, have generally moved in lockstep while dramatically overhauling Texas’ largest school district.
None of the four board members who voted against the budget proposal — Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Michelle Cruz Arnold, Rolando Martinez and Adam Rivon — detailed their opposition during Thursday’s meeting. Of the four, only Rivon spoke during the budget discussion, requesting that Miles present the board with more data in the future about which components of HISD’s overhaul model are having the most impact.
Cruz Arnold said she was surprised by the 5-4 result. She said she voted no because Miles did not present the board with enough evidence justifying his plans or possible ways to adjust his spending proposal.
“I asked some questions of the administration in advance of the first budget workshop and then in advance of the second one that went unanswered,” Cruz Arnold said. “I’m a processor, and without that information … I just had to vote no.”
Board President Audrey Momanaee, who voted in favor of the budget, posed the most pointed question to Miles’ over his plans, pressing him on his intention to spend roughly $2,500 more per student on children at 130 “New Education System” schools than students at other campuses.
“Do you think that the budget that we’re looking at will reduce performance in the traditional schools, which are outside of the NES program?” Momanee asked.
Miles’ plan included roughly $500 million less spending than last year, as HISD grapples with the end of pandemic stimulus funding and enrollment losses. Miles also accused HISD’s previous superintendent, Millard House II, of overspending.
But while HISD leaders have said the majority of those cuts will come from roughly 1,500 layoffs in central office, they have not released specifics on the scale of cuts to roles and programs.
Emphasis mine. I have said repeatedly in this space that I am not comfortable with the idea of voting against the forthcoming bond proposal as a way of registering one’s disapproval of Mike Miles, as that message would not be received by the TEA and the schools and students really need what the bonds would deliver. But boy howdy is it easy to understand the “no trust, no bond” mantra when confronted with this kind of obvious bullshit. Miles has been dishonest about his fiscal plans all along. This is just another example of him pissing on our shoes and telling us it’s raining.
There’s a lot in this story so read the whole thing, but I want to highlight this bit as well.
Miles’ administration has implemented a system in HISD where, for the first time, some schools receive considerably more money than others.
Schools undergoing NES system changes will receive roughly one-third more money per student than other schools in the district — bolstering their budgets while other campuses are forced to make cuts.
Miles has said the investments are worthwhile because the schools involved in the overhaul have been historically underperforming and, according to preliminary test results, have seen academic gains after the first year under the new model. The extra money pays for added staff members, new curriculum and teacher salaries that are about $10,000 to $20,000 higher than other roles in the district.
Meanwhile, most non-NES schools have had to reduce their spending for next year, with about 50 campuses required to make cuts between 6 percent and 12 percent.
The 130 NES campuses next year will serve about 72,000 students, while non-NES schools will serve roughly 95,000. Each group serves about half of HISD’s economically disadvantaged students by raw numbers, but NES schools serve those students in a higher concentration.
Despite trimming hundreds of millions of dollars, HISD’s 2024-25 budget relies on roughly $200 million in one-time revenues and tapping reserves, prompting questions about long-term plans to balance costs.
Miles’ team plans to sell $80 million in property next year, though the district has not yet finalized which buildings will be sold. HISD leaders also plan to dip into $130 million of the district’s projected $930 million “rainy day” fund. Texas officials recommend that districts with HISD’s budget keep at least $525 million in reserves.
HISD’s board of managers expressed concerns about budget sustainability, asking Miles’ team to explain its plan to “offset” the district’s current deficit spending in future years, according to a question-and-answer document published by the district in advance of Thursday’s meeting. The document doesn’t specify which board members asked about the deficit.
Miles’ team said it plans to continue cutting spending in the years to come, and to seek philanthropic donations and grants.
So many questions raised by all this:
1. If the key to the projected success of the NES schools is the extra spending on teachers and support staff there, then wouldn’t it follow that cutting spending at the other schools would be detrimental to them? What’s the plan if grades and scores start to slip in the non-NES schools?
2. As I understand it, the schools that were added to the NES system after the initial batch were designated were done so because of their 2023 STAAR scores. But there are progress reports and other data points during the year, which would presumably be more indicative of their standing than a previous STAAR test. Why rush to add so many more NES schools, before we had any evidence this program was not only working but also worth the extra cost? Why not use the full range of data available when making that decision?
3. It’s not just Miles who’s hiding the ball here. As the Houston Press points out:
As usual, no one on the appointed board explained why they voted the way they did, leaving audience members to speculate about whether those trustees who voted “no” did so was because they disagreed with the massive allocation of funds to NES schools, a fear that non-NES schools were being left behind, or just the anxiety that NES style of instruction with its rigid time tables and daily testing would eventually move to highly rated schools those board members hold dear.
The elected Board has certainly had its share of problems. But you generally at least knew where they stood on things.
4. Seeking “philanthropic donations and grants” to help with future budgets sure doesn’t raise any red flags, am I right?
5. Finally, while we can talk all we want about how this school is doing versus that school, what really matters is how the individual students are doing, especially the students from the population groups that have struggled the most in HISD: Students of color, economically disadvantaged students, students who are English language learners, and students in special education. Forget about all the preliminary data that’s being bandied about now. This is what really matters. The Chron has more.