Mike Miles, the superintendent imposed on the Houston Independent School District, announced major budget cuts and staff layoffs. Among those released: two principals of the year for 2023. Miles was trained by the Broad Superintendents’ Academy to disrupt, and he’s doing it.
Houston ISD alerted dozens of teachers and principals of both performance-based job cuts and budget-forced reductions this week, prompting parents across the state’s largest school system to plan another round of protests as the tumultuous school year under state takeover nears an end.
Among the dozens of teachers and principals asked to leave: both the HISD Elementary and Middle School Principals of the Year in HISD in 2023.
Neff Elementary Principal Amanda Wingard confirmed in a Facebook post Thursday that the school district asked her to resign.
“I have loved Neff and the Sharpstown community for the last 35 years,” wrote Wingard, who was honored at a banquet a year ago for her leadership.
Alongside her is 2022-23 Middle School Principal of the Year, Auden Sarabia, who told his staff at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts this week that he was asked to resign or go before the Board of Managers, a teacher and parents confirmed. Saraba has worked for HISD for 18 years.
Crockett Elementary Principal Alexis Clark is also not returning to her visual and performing arts magnet campus near the Heights.
“I’m heartbroken. We’re all heartbroken. I’ve done my best to protect my kids — they’re young — from what’s happening,” said Liz Silva, PTO fundraising chair and incoming president. “Can’t really avoid the topic anymore with them…”
The Houston Chronicle is working to confirm other principal departures, and, in some cases it is unclear whether principals are resigning or being forced out. Even before this latest round of cuts, HISD’s principal turnover had been high under Miles.
The school district’s Board of Managers unanimously permitted job cuts Thursday night prior to the 2024-2025 school year. Positions subject to cuts include nurses; librarians; counselors; assistant principals; principals; reading, math and science teachers; and special education coordinators. It’s unclear at this time how many termination notices have been handed out and how many positions total will be cut.
Governor Abbott’s plans to wreck the district and destroy the morale of educators and parents are on track. Remember that the state took over the district because one school was not improving, although it did improve in the year before the takeover.
The takeover is a politically motivated sham.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The real story will be the decidedly INFERIOR replacements. Competence will be at the bottom of the list. But Kowtowing and robotic/militaristic Mike Miles order issuing & order following will rule the day. God help these communities and their faculties. His time in Dallas says it all. No crystal ball required for where HISD is headed.
Elections have consequences, teachers must join the union and become political activists, the only thing Abbot and Miles understand is political power
If I was a Principal, Teacher, or any other employee of the Houston ISD I would be looking to get out of there. Mike Miles will do anything Abbott tells him to do and right now it is dump all the people in the district’s employment that do not agree with his Fascist way of thinking. Of course, Houston ISD is just a start of Abbott’s take over of school districts. Count of it.
“The takeover is a politically motivated sham”Haven’t all these school deforms since and including NCLB been political shams?
I think yes would be a good, simple answer.
We must remember that NCLB originate from Texas under George W. Bush with Rod Paige, Ex-Superintendent of the Houston ISD, the main person putting the NCLB act together. Paige was a failure as a Superintendent and Secretary of Education under Bush.
The “takeover” pretends policy WASN’T their call in the first place. Go figure, illusions have consequences. Shamming the institutional mechanisms, established by power, into a voter controlled system, joins the blame voters sham, for powers the voters never had.
They who? What policy? What is illusory? None of this comment is at all decipherable. English please.
Texas is no longer a constitutional republic and democracy. Putin must be proud of Governor Abbott, one of Putin’s puppets.
I suggest starting with cutting Mike Miles’s position.
Putting principals of the year on the chopping block was predictable, since Miles used data to decide what principals to employ. That’s like using spellcheck two decide watt words too employ wen righting a sentence. Poor judgment on so many levels.
Any votes for the GOP are votes against public education. They are working to destroy public education in red led states. Vote Blue!
Here’s what greatschools.org said about Pat Neff elementary.
“Students at this school are making more academic progress given where they were last year, compared to similar students in the state.
Strong progress with low test scores means that students are starting at a low point but the school is doing a better job at supporting their academic growth than most other schools.”
They have a 94% poverty rate.
Doesn’t look like the decision to fire Amanda Wingard was data based.
Sounds like Amanda Wingard was an excellent principal.
this is nation wide problem. The claim is because COVID funding had been exhausted, to deal with a new budgets, cuts are evident. In Georgia Gov Keep is sitting a pile excess money: billions. And what if one the programs that drawing out from these billion is $6500 vouchers per child as long as they have been enrolled for a year in a “failing public school”. In urban area, where most so called failing schools are located geographically, most students families would not be to fund their kids in some of private——-especially in Atlanta.
there is much much more to this. There an activist group oh high school students who’ve organic zed into very smart go up willing to know what it stake for public school and have plans and suggestedfir successful positive planning and implementation
their article appeared in Sundays AJC. You can read it here: https://www.ajc.com/black-atlanta-culture/70-years-after-brown-georgia-is-moving-in-the-wrong-direction/DQL6FUVV6BEUNM2SLGEQ3RPJUY/