Staff at 29 Houston Schools Must Reapply for Jobs Under New State-Appointed Superintendent

People hold up signs at a news conference while protesting the proposed takeover of Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency in Houston on March 3, 2023. Juan A. Lozano/AP Photo

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has appointed a new superintendent to lead Houston Independent School District (ISD) following the agency’s takeover of the state’s largest district.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced on June 1 that Mike Miles would take the helm of the district, serving nearly 190,000 students across 274 schools. Miles replaces Superintendent Millard House II, who was hired in 2021 to improve student performance across the district.

Less than a week into his new role, Miles has already begun overhauling the district as the 2022–2023 school year comes to a close.

“HISD’s failure to serve your students, to provide basic services, and set meaningful goals for your students is a complete systemic failure from top to bottom,” Miles wrote in a message to parents on his first day on the job. “It ends today. We will be asking for your help and partnership, but we will overhaul HISD’s provision of special education services by the end [of] 2023.”

Hours into his first day on the job, Miles announced that employees at 29 campuses—including principals, teachers, counselors, support staff, and others—would be required to reapply for their jobs.

Miles has dubbed the initiative “New Education System.”

Teachers with three years of experience who are rehired could earn a higher salary. The base compensation for teachers with three years of experience ranges from $79,000 to $91,000.

Miles is currently working under a temporary 21-day contract until the district’s new board of managers formally approves his role as superintendent. The nine-member board of managers, also appointed by Morath, replaces the district’s elected board of trustees.

The board of managers is required to meet the same obligations as an elected board of trustees, including “holding all meetings in public, allowing for public comment, holding public hearings, and posting all required budget and tax information for public review and discussion,” according to TEA.

The board of managers includes Audrey Momanaee, Ric Campo, Angela Lemond Flowers, Michelle Cruz Arnold, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Janette Garza Lindner, Rolando Martinez, Paula Mendoza, and Adam Rivon.

Miles announced on June 6 the appointment of 10 members to his cabinet, effective immediately.

Cabinet members include Kerri Briggs, who will serve as chief of staff; Orlando Riddick, Luz Martinez, and Imelda De La Guardia, who will serve as division superintendents; Jim Terry as chief of finance and business services; and Kristen Dobson Hole as chief academic officer.

“Their collective experience and expertise make this one of the most skilled education leadership teams in the nation,“ Miles said in a statement. ”More important than that, they share the clear and ambitious vision to implement system-wide reform in HISD that improves student outcomes for all HISD students, eradicates the massive achievement gaps for Black and Brown students, and provides a full set of education experiences to prepare all HISD graduates for the year 2035 and beyond.”

Who Is Mike Miles?

Miles has three decades of experience as an educator.

Most recently, he served as the founder and CEO of Third Future Schools, which has a network of public charter schools in Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

“The network was founded on the notion that a Year 2035 workplace will require new skills and the ability to think critically,” the website states.

From 2012 to 2015, Miles served as superintendent of Dallas ISD, the second-largest school district in the state, but he parted ways abruptly when the school board denied his requests to amend his contract, The Dallas Morning News reported in June 2015.

Miles, who was earning a salary of more than $300,000, wanted immediate access to a $50,000 “retention incentive supplement” that was not scheduled for payment until July 1, 2017, according to reports. He also wanted school board members to follow the district’s Board Operating Procedures.

After being denied the opportunity to amend his contract, Miles resigned two years before the end of his five-year contract. He cited several reasons for his abrupt departure, including his desire to move back to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where his wife and youngest son lived.

“The challenge with Mike Miles wasn’t his ideas of turning around schools or trying to reform education, the challenge with Mike Miles was his approach with people. He’s a military-minded person, he came in saying ‘It’s my way or the highway,’ and he didn’t do well with Dallas politics,” longtime Dallas education advocate Edward Turner told the Houston Chronicle.

Before making the move to Dallas ISD, Miles was superintendent of Harrison School District in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from 2006 to 2012. He also served in the U.S. Army as a diplomat for the Department of State, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Miles received a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in international affairs and public policy from Columbia University.

What Led to State Takeover?

In March, the TEA announced the state takeover of Houston ISD that would include appointing a new superintendent and board of managers. The state agency first attempted to oversee the district in 2019 following allegations of misconduct by school trustees, which included inappropriate influencing of vendor contracts and years of low academic scores at Phillis Wheatley High School.

Early this year, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a temporary injunction blocking the TEA from replacing the district’s elected school board members with state managers.

“I have carefully reviewed the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion. I have also considered the information presented by the district during the previously granted formal review,” Morath wrote in a letter to House and the former school board members in March (pdf).

“As a result of those deliberations, and to best support the students, teachers, and school community of Houston ISD, I am appointing a Board of Managers to the district as an intervention action required by law,” the letter continued.

House had developed a five-year plan to address the issues within Houston ISD. Wheatley’s rating improved from “unacceptable” to a “C” under House’s leadership.

“Because of the hard work of our students, teachers, and staff, we have lifted 40 of 50 schools off the D or F TEA’s accountability rating list,” House said in a statement following the announcement of the agency’s plan to take control.

Morath will determine how long the TEA will be in charge of Houston ISD. Previous state takeovers have lasted two to six years.