The Houston Public School District board voted to adopt district goals for the 2025–26 school year after a discussion about whether an athletics-and-activities culture goal and a district hiring handbook should be included in the superintendent's goals.

Board members approved the goals after removing one item that board members said belonged under a director's responsibilities rather than the superintendent's. The board's adopted goals include community service and industrial partnerships; enhanced communication and transparency; student growth through pathways and academic expansion; and a directive to collaborate on a hiring handbook and procedures to support staff retention.

The discussion centered on where the board should set expectations and where specific operational goals should sit. Several board members said a positive athletics-and-activities culture is important but argued it may be more appropriate as an athletic director expectation than a superintendent goal. One board member described the athletics item as "a positive athletics and activities culture plan" focused on sportsmanship and character development. Other board members said the hiring handbook item came from the MSBA superintendent-evaluation guidance and is intended as a district-level procedure to document recruiting, interviewing, hiring, induction and retention practices.

Superintendent Mary, who participated in the discussion, said the hiring handbook was intended to be a district plan, not a personnel evaluation shortcut: "This is a district plan," she said, explaining the handbook would create a documented process so, if a community member asks how a hire was made, the district can point to a consistent procedure. Board members also debated whether the board should draft the procedure directly or ask the superintendent to draft a procedure and route it through the policy/procedure committee for board review.

After additional discussion about superintendent-evaluation processes and use of MSBA materials, a board member moved to adopt the adjusted set of goals for the year; the motion received a second and passed. The board scheduled a midyear report and said it would revisit superintendent-evaluation procedures in a study session with MSBA materials.

Board members stressed that approving the district goals does not place the board in the day-to-day hiring role; several members emphasized that the superintendent hires staff and that the handbook is intended to create transparency and consistency. The board also agreed the finalized hiring procedure would come back for committee review and formal board approval.

The board said it will make the final adopted goals available to the public and provide a midyear progress report to the board.