Hundreds of community members lined up at the Houston Independent School District (HISD) board meeting on Jan. 16 to demand accountability after the district disclosed that roughly $870,000,000 in purchasing occurred over a 16‑month period without prior board approval.

Speakers at the meeting — including students, teachers and parents — repeatedly called for an independent investigation and for the board to hold Superintendent Mike Miles accountable. Student speaker Alyanna Gottlieb told the board the spending “$870,000,000 over a 16 month period without the appointed board’s approval” damaged trust. Multiple speakers said the purchases should not be accepted as a clerical mistake and urged firings and firmer board oversight.

The board moved to ratify agenda item 9 — “Ratification of cooperative vendor awards from August 11, 2023 to present” — after recessing to closed session. The motion to ratify was made and seconded at the meeting; the board later announced the item was approved with a recorded outcome of 7 yes, 1 no and 1 abstention. The board’s audit committee reported it had directed the district’s internal audit function (an external firm, RSM) to examine contracts and purchases over $1,000,000; the committee said RSM’s memo concluded the reviewed procurements “followed the appropriate processes.” The audit‑committee report and the RSM memo will be posted to the district’s audit area on the HISD website, the board said.

Board members and administration also announced additional steps: the audit committee will oversee a full procurement audit to begin immediately and will conduct quarterly follow‑up audits. The administration said it will develop additional legal review steps and process improvements for procurement as part of those corrective actions.

Public commenters repeatedly raised concerns about internal controls and the tone set by district leadership. Multiple speakers described the lapse as a potential “material weakness” in cash disbursements, cited the district’s clean audit opinion issued by Weaver and Tidwell in November, and asked when auditors were informed and whether the auditors’ opinion should have reflected the problem earlier. Several speakers asked that the board require a public independent audit rather than internal review.

Administration and the audit committee said the internal review by RSM covered purchases above the million‑dollar threshold and that RSM found processes followed. The board said it will publish RSM’s memo online and pursue a broader audit of procurement practices and quarterly follow‑ups managed by the audit committee. The board did not at the meeting vote to terminate or suspend the superintendent; that action was not recorded as a board vote during the open meeting.

The meeting record shows heavy public turnout: the board said it had 79 registered public speakers for the evening. Many of those who addressed the board focused their remarks on the unapproved purchases and the need for transparency, independent auditing, and immediate changes to purchasing controls.

What the board approved: ratification of cooperative vendor awards covering purchases from Aug. 11, 2023 through the present, with the caveat that the audit committee would oversee further procurement review and that an RSM memo documenting the review would be posted to the district’s audit reports page. The board also directed additional internal controls and legal review steps be implemented by administration.

Next steps the board announced at the meeting included publishing the RSM memo, beginning a full procurement audit under audit committee oversight, and scheduling quarterly follow‑up audits to track corrective actions.

Votes at a glance: ratification of cooperative vendor awards — approved (tally reported 7 yes, 1 no, 1 abstention). The board reported the internal review results from RSM and directed a broader procurement audit and quarterly follow‑up reviews.