Houston ISD parents criticize Mike Miles in first board meeting since failed bond election – Houston Public Media
As he spoke during Thursday night's Houston ISD board meeting, specifically addressing state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, Brian Colvard held up a printed copy of an email he received from Miles on the night of Nov. 5.
The email, which Miles sent to HISD parents, news outlets and other stakeholders, addressed the district's failed bond proposal on Election Day . Miles called it "unfortunate and wrong" that 58 percent of Houston voters rejected the $4.4 billion bond package, also saying the "politics of adults beat out the needs of our children."
Colvard, a River Oaks Elementary parent who said he voted against the bond, told Miles on Thursday, "How dare you send this to parents? We are here supporting our children."
Then, as he finished speaking, Colvard ripped the piece of paper in half.
"This is what you just did to the whole community," he told the superintendent.
More than 130 students, parents and community members expressed similar sentiments during HISD's first school board meeting since the bond election, which could be considered a referendum on Miles , his instructional reforms and leadership style and a state takeover of the district that began in June 2023. Colvard and several others told Miles he should resign, while some implored the district's state-appointed board of managers to fire the superintendent.
Neither Miles nor the six board members who were present responded to those requests during the meeting, and Miles declined to comment when approached afterward. The board's only discussion about the failed bond vote – at least during the open session – came at the outset of the meeting. Board secretary Angela Lemond Flowers said she and the others were "disappointed" in the result, which drew some applause from the crowd at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.
"We are focused on moving forward in partnership with the Houston community, to do everything we can for every single HISD child," Flowers said.
In the board's annual self-evaluation, which it approved without discussion Thursday as part of the consent agenda, the members gave themselves a score of 1 out of 10 for community advocacy and engagement. That was mentioned by multiple public speakers, some of whom encouraged the unelected board members to seek out more input from HISD community members and give more consideration to their wants and concerns.
Among them was Nicolin Neal, the mother of an elementary student at The School at St. George Place. She said she's seen the campus atmosphere "deteriorate" amidst recent staffing and instructional changes at the school, which is not part of Miles' New Education System reform model.
"We really do want to have a transformative process of communication with you all," Neal told the board members. "There's such a big divide, and we need to figure out why. And we need to start solving problems."
Placido Gomez, an elected HISD trustee who has no voting power because of the state intervention, said he hopes the failed bond vote can be a point of inflection for the district and its state-appointed leaders, who were installed by the Texas Education Agency because Wheatley High School had a string of failing academic ratings from the state. Gomez said the district's need for improved campuses caused him to vote in favor of the bond – which would have been the largest in state history and HISD's first since 2012 – and that district leaders need to accept responsibility for their role in the election result and do more to gain the trust and support of the community.
That sentiment was echoed by HISD parent and taxpayer Lawrence Dean, one of several speakers who said they were addressing the board for the first time Thursday.
"I'm hopeful that this is the beginning of authentic, true engagement and communication between the community and the (board of managers)," Dean said, "and not just a scripted meeting telling us what we should think and what we should feel about things."
In addition to approving their self-evaluation, the board also voted to remove the International Baccalaureate program at Fondren Middle School and to beef up the admission requirements for Carnegie Vanguard High School, a highly regarded magnet school. Both changes were requested by the campus principals.
During the portion of the meeting that was closed to the public, the board also discussed the potential sale of nearly 20 properties, including land that had been earmarked for new career and technical education centers as part of the bond proposal.
Travis McGee, the president of the South Park Super Neighborhood Council, spoke out against the potential property sales and also said he had rallied people in his community to vote against the bond. McGee pledged to do the same if HISD's state-appointed leaders put forward another bond proposal.
"Bonds will continue to fail," he said, "as long as we have dictatorship versus leadership."
