Houston parents heckled the County Treasurer, Orlando Sanchez, as he tried to hold a press conference where he called for the state to take over the district. One parent even dumped a bottle of water on his head.
Why he thinks the Texas State Education Department is qualified to run the public schools of Houston is a mystery.
Only a few years ago, Houston won the Broad Prize as the most improved school district in the nation. Actually, Houston won it twice, in 2002 and 2013, probably because it pleased Eli Broad by opening many charter schools. Shows you the value of the Broad Prize. About the same as Broad superintendents.
“I’m calling on the governor, and imploring our governor and the Texas Education Agency to step in and take over HISD,“ said Sanchez.
“HISD has had ample opportunity to provide a quality education for the children and the taxpayers and they have failed,” added Sanchez.
That was the message that took almost two hours to deliver. As soon as Sanchez tried to speak, he was drowned out by more than a dozen protesters chanting, “Go away TEA!,” “Whose house? Our house!,” and “Shame!”
“We fight and fight and fight because every child deserves an education,” said Kandice Webber, one of the protesting parents. “They do not deserve what Orlando Sanchez is trying to do two communities that he has never even spoken to.”
The situation quickly escalated when someone in the crowd dumped a bottle of water over Sanchez’s head. The crowd then claimed that a member of Sanchez’s staff had assaulted them.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I wonder if Texas will be willing to pay for a squad of Texas Rangers to protect Orlando Sanchez from the Texas citizens that probably dream every night of lynching him.
If Betsy DeVos gets an expensive tax payer funded platoon of US Sheriffs guarding her from U.S. citizens that want to lynch her, then why can”t Sanchez get similar protection in Texas?
Has DeVos set a precedent so every corrupt and very unpopular public servant who is only serving their own interests will end up heavily guarded and paid for by the same citizens that can’t stand them?
Posted at OEN https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Houston-Chaos-as-Parents-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Education_Education-Funding_Educational-Crisis_For-profit-Education-181230-360.html#comment720819
with this comment: which has links embedded at the above address but I am copying them here!
Texas schools are under assault . Look at what happened in New Orleans now the 1st city in the US without a public school as the Orleans Parish School Board closed the last public school in a meeting room filled with protesting parents, students and alumni. The board disregarded the protesters. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/12/23/new-orleans-the-last-public-school-closes-despite-objections-of-parents-and-students-and-alumni/ https://dianeravitch.net/2018/12/23/new-orleans-the-last-public-school-closes-despite-objections-of-parents-and-students-and-alumni/
Look at Oklahoma where Reformers Are Shifting Tactics, https://dianeravitch.net/2018/12/22/john-thompson-reformers-are-shifting-tactics-not-goals/
Not GoalsMatt Barnum of Chalkbeat reports what the Reformers say to one another. “They have not backed away one iota from their rock-solid belief that private management is the sure cure for low test scores, despite the failure of the Tennessee Achievement School District and the Michigan Education Achievement Authority and every similar program that claimed to bring in “high-performing seats”.
I highly recommend you follow former asst Secretary of Education Ravitch, and talk to her there .Diane Ravitch’s blog | A site to discuss better education for all
I have been using information from her site, about the state legislatures which are taking over the local schools, for 2 decades, with nary an educator on board, and giving them to charters, with not a shred of oversight! https://dianeravitch.net/?s=legislature
Here is her piece on the A Slick Campaign for Privatization https://dianeravitch.net/?s=PRIVITIZATION
.Here is a link to Diane’s posts on charter school corruption .. https://dianeravitch.net/?s=corruption
Diane Ravitch predicted the current disaster for public education years ago. How Not to Fix Our Public Schools in her book Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools
https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/reform-reform
It sounds like Sanchez is attempting to fabricate a “crisis” in order to justify a state takeover of public schools in Houston. He has seen this at work in other stealth takeovers like New Orleans and Chicago. Houston should look at the long, very unsuccessful state takeovers nationwide. State takeovers are a big step down from where the city is now with only four schools on the IR list. Where is does Mayor Turner stand in this charade? I hope he will defend Houston’s public schools.
As for the water issue in Texas, radium is a common problem in this part of Texas. It is not the crisis that Sanchez is pretending it is. Schools do not have to be repiped to improve water quality. A couple of bake sales from the PTA should cover the costs. According to the ‘Houston Chronicle,’ a simple carbon filter can be used to improve water quality. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/texas-most-contaminated-water-ewg-report-2018-12490763.php
The 99% have no voice voice in the American oligarchy. So, the people do what they have to do. An escalation of force is inevitable.
Why is the County Treasurer even involved, much less calling a press conference?
That seems to be a good question. One has to feel that such a move might be calculated as an opening shot. I thought Houston Schools had been doing well. I believe the Teachers at the school have ideas as how to improve things but the power guys don’t wish to listen to them.
I keep wondering if the education system can move beyond privatizing as a means of improving schools.
When “improving” now so transparently pretends to hide “opening public tax money up to opportunism”