Community lashes out over $870 million in unapproved purchases; board ratifies cooperative awards after internal review

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…