HOUSTON – Following recent criticism from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles has written a letter to Turner, inviting him to tour New Education System (NES) aligned schools on the first week back from summer break.
“I would like you to join me at some of these campuses during the first week of school. You will see first-hand the unique attributes of this model and its ability to support student achievement,” Miles said to Turner in the letter.
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In the letter, Miles said the foundation of NES is equity, where the most disadvantaged students in Houston will receive the most support.
“We are excited to show all of this to you first-hand once the school year begins,” the letter read.
You can read the entire letter in the embed above.
The invitation comes after several critical statements from the mayor. Following last week’s community meeting, where a slideshow during a presentation revealed more detailed numbers on positions cut from HISD’s central office, Mayor Turner released the following statement:
The wholesale changes of HISD and the steep salaries being given is not a sustainable model. In the short run Supt. Miles cuts are deeply concerning and is being done to offset other costs and may jeopardize long-term operations. The absence of checks and balances is glaring.
When a Superintendent and Board of Managers of the largest school district in Texas is selected by one person you get unilateral decision-making. Where there is no additional funding from state, you get dramatic cuts to your public school system. Not a sustainable model.
The state legislators from Houston cannot disconnect from what’s happening at HISD. In the absence of a democratic elected board they must be the watchdogs and hold the TEA Commissioner accountable. We must. We all must. These are our children.
The superintendent is cutting 2300 positions from HISD. Take this as a red flag. Next- program cuts, charter schools and school consolidations. Why? Because the state doesn’t want to fund fully public education.
On Wednesday, Mayor Turner also criticized the decision to eliminate librarian positions at 28 schools this upcoming year and convert the libraries into ‘Team Centers’ where kids with behavioral issues will be sent.
“You don’t close libraries in some of the schools in your most underserved communities, and you’re keeping libraries open in other schools,” said Turner.