What the hell are we doing here?
Michelle Williams
Houston ISD’s appointed board of managers voted Thursday to terminate a teacher union leader even though an independent hearing examiner initially recommended that the district reinstate the longtime educator.
All six members who were present voted in favor of terminating Michelle Williams, president of the Houston Education Association and third grade teacher. The attorneys’ arguments showed that questions went beyond the individual case, such as whether a teacher can deviate from the curriculum, including when they believe it is necessary to accommodate student needs.
The board’s decision goes against a February recommendation from a state-appointed independent hearing examiner, who found that Williams was wrongfully terminated after a two-day hearing. The examiner decided HISD “did not provide a preponderance of credible, admissible evidence” and therefore “has not established any of the reasons for the proposed termination” with enough evidence.
But Wednesday night, HISD submitted a brief to the board, asking members to approve a modified recommendation that would reverse the examiner’s recommendation to mean there was sufficient evidence to fire Williams, said Williams’ attorney, Giana Ortiz. She questioned how the board could make that change after the independent examiner found no wrongdoing.
“We’re going to be exploring that and really diving into what they’ve asked,” Ortiz said. “Because we just got it last night. And so we’ve not had a chance to fully digest it, nor has the board.”
[…]
Ortiz said Thursday the district wants to convince the board in 10 minutes that the hearing examiner got it wrong after two days of hearing.
“Your lawyers want to convince you that, based on one email, Michelle Williams refused to implement HISD curriculum,” Ortiz argued. “But that is not the case. The evidence showed that Michelle Williams agreed to and did implement HISD curriculum in a way that complied with the law.”
Ortiz said the teacher raised concerns that the curriculum, pacing and sequence did not allow her to accommodate the needs of special education, emergent bilingual, and gifted and talented students.
“Mike Miles knows Michelle Williams,” Ortiz said. “The evidence bore that out. The evidence bore out that she is a problem for him. Witness testimony said she speaks at board meetings. She speaks to the media. And she makes complaints to TEA (the Texas Education Agency). She speaks for the children and the teachers in this district.”
I didn’t quote the HISD flunky who argued in favor of firing her, but it’s a gift link so read it for yourself. Maybe there’s an explanation for this that isn’t the appointed Board, who are accountable to Mike Miles, doing Mike Miles a solid. But if there is, I’m not seeing it. What the hell are we doing here?
By the way, Michelle Williams is also a candidate for State Rep, in HD127. I look forward to interviewing her this summer. I’m sure this will come up in the conversation.
And while we’re pondering unfathomable things, there’s this.
Houston ISD expects to lose another 4,000 students next school year and, with them, $50 million in funding. But state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles is still aiming for a balanced budget with expenditures roughly matching revenue of just over $2 billion.
According to the district’s preliminary budget at a Thursday workshop, HISD plans to cut expenses — including $35 million in cuts to the central office and $15 million in savings from closing schools — and end with a fund balance of $753 million for the next fiscal year.
“In other words, if we get to the projected fund balance of $751 (million), our expenditures will almost match our revenue this year. And that is a balanced budget, and that would be huge,” Miles said at the Thursday meeting.
The district is battling declining enrollment, which is linked to student funding, as it seeks to fund Miles’ plans to tie teachers’ compensation to performance and pilot artificial intelligence-focused schools. The district is also changing the school funding formula to separate teacher salaries from per-student funding.
HISD’s preliminary budget shows it expects revenue to drop by $55.4 million next fiscal year, for an estimated total revenue of about $2.019 billion. On the other side of the budget, HISD is forecasting its expenditures will decrease by $46.75 million, for total expenditures of $2.052 billion. This means current projected expenditures are roughly $33.5 million more than revenue.
I shudder to think how small and underfunded a district we’re finally going to get back when we’re done with this debacle. What the hell are we doing here?