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Public commenters press HISD for accountability, cite superintendent consulting and partner insurance gaps
Summary
Nine registered speakers criticized district decisions during public comment, urging accountability for Superintendent Miles’s outside consulting, citing teacher shortages and calling for partner insurance requirements in 1882 partnerships and Future 2 Schools.
Public comment at the Houston ISD board workshop on April 23 focused on calls for accountability, staffing shortfalls and risk-management concerns for partnership schools.
A speaker who opened public comment urged the board to “protect our public dollars” and called for the dismissal of Superintendent Miles, citing reporting that the superintendent had a base salary of $462,000, $173,000 in board-approved bonuses and had earned roughly $190,000 over three years from a charter network he founded. “Our superintendent cannot serve two masters and Houston's children should not be the ones who pay the price,” the commenter said, citing House Bill 3372 as legislation intended to curb such moonlighting.
Several parents and community members described classroom instability and staffing gaps. Laura Henry, who identified herself as a parent and a national board certified teacher in another district, said some HISD students “didn’t have a teacher at all” after teacher terminations, and described moving students between classes. Another commenter warned that Future 2 Schools is experimental and urged the board to examine student outcomes and emotional impacts reported elsewhere.
A separate commenter raised specific risk-management concerns about 1882 partnership agreements, asserting district contracts do not require minimum insurance for partner organizations and arguing the district and taxpayers should not absorb partner liabilities. The speaker cited instances at Third Future Schools — including allegations that teachers were arrested in separate incidents — as reasons partners should be required to carry insurance.
Board staff closed public comment after nine registered speakers; the board then moved into the budget workshop and later into a brief executive session. The board did not take formal action during public comment and no motion or vote on personnel or partnership policies was recorded that evening.
