“It’s really unfortunate” | Texas Governor Greg Abbott Responds to State Takeover of Houston ISD

HOUSTON – “Unfortunate”. This is what Texas Governor Greg Abbott calls for government takeover of Houston ISD.

The Governor spoke about the situation during an event in Austin, saying that Texas has a commitment to its students and must come together to reinvent the county so children can be provided with a better education.

“HISD had a long-standing failure, and students were the victims of this failure,” Abbott said.

After weeks of speculation and rumor, TEA confirmed on Wednesday that it will take over the district and replace its current governor and elected trustees as early as June.

The threat of a government takeover emerged in 2019 after Whitley High School achieved unacceptable ratings for five consecutive years and previous board members allegedly engaged in misconduct. Whitley has since climbed to the top three, but the TEA takeover has already begun.

Abbott said the acquisition will allow HISD to set the course so that the school district no longer fails its students.

“But know that when I talk about what we’re going to do in the future, some people are suggesting it’s going to be used for parental empowerment and stuff like that,” Abbott said. “All of this is completely unrelated to what’s going on with HISD.”

Watch Abbott’s full response to the TEA takeover in the video below:

According to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, there will be no immediate changes to HISD, although Superintendent Millard House II and current HISD board trustees will eventually be replaced by TEA.

“It is important to formulate it the way the law is structured. I’m not the one who leads HISD,” Morath told KHOU 11 host Len Cannon. “As part of this intervention, we are selecting nine people who are residents of Houston. there will be a Board of Managers and they will take over all the powers and responsibilities of the elected school board, so it’s basically a shift of local control from the current local board to a nine-member appointed board. Obligations to run the school system, like any governing body in the state of Texas, so they will oversee the superintendent. They will set the strategic direction. They will set the budget. the needs of the students are above all.”

Morath said the application process is now open. He will have the final word on who is on the board of governors and who will be the next superintendent. Whether teachers will be fired is not yet clear.

According to the TEA, no schools will be closed. There had previously been concerns that the persistently underperforming Worthing High School could be closed.

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