HOUSTON – An HISD art teacher tells KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun she’s preparing to leave the district ahead of more cuts.
“I can’t take the instability of it,” the teacher said. “Every week is a new, new terrible thing to have to deal with.”
KPRC 2 is not identifying the teacher because they fear retribution for speaking out.
“We’re all just like, this is the first round. We know there’s more coming,” they said. “Now it’s just waiting to see; positioning yourself to doing whatever you can to protect yourself.”
A spokesperson for HISD said they can’t comment on specific positions, but shared district officials are trying their best to keep cuts away from the classroom.
“The staffing decisions being made by HISD will allow us to allocate the District’s limited resources in ways that will help ensure all students receive high-quality instruction every day,” the spokesperson said. “While we cannot comment on specific employees or positions being impacted by these reductions, many HISD departments are impacted.”
The art teacher said they were unaware of the potential cuts until last week when the message was sent.
The teacher said they’re not returning in the Fall and are aware of several teachers at their school also looking elsewhere.
“Every single teacher I know here is looking elsewhere or retiring,” they said.
KPRC 2 obtained a list of ‘reduction in force’ Houston ISD positions district leaders are considering cutting to deal with the budget deficit.
Art was first on the list.
“Almost every single department had to cut positions,” Miles confirmed last week.
Miles said the district had to close a gap of $450 million to avoid a shortfall for the next year. Federal relief that came during COVID is going away. Miles said the district should never have put some of that money in “recurring expenses” which he called “totally inappropriate.”
Houston ISD response
“Like most school districts in Texas and across the country, HISD is being forced to make tough budget decisions for the 2024-2025 academic year. State funding for education has not increased, and the one-time money provided by the federal government to support students during and after the pandemic is no longer available. This means HISD must right size the central office and find ways to operate more efficiently.
Many HISD departments are seeing a reduction in force, and that process has been ongoing since January. Superintendent Miles has said the District will keep cuts as far away from students and classrooms as possible and will continue to invest in our teachers and leaders. The staffing decisions being made by HISD will allow us to allocate the District’s limited resources in ways that will help ensure all students receive high-quality instruction every day.
HISD’s administrative team is actively building the proposed budget for next school year. We will have more information to share in the coming weeks. While we cannot comment on specific employees or positions being impacted by these reductions, many HISD departments are impacted. Employees whose positions are changed or eliminated will stay in them until the end of the year, and HISD will support them to find other opportunities in the District if they choose. Services to schools and students will not be disrupted.” – HISD administration