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With the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education having met for the last time before the Texas Education Agency (TEA) replaces it with a slate of its appointees from the community, the state responded on Sunday to a social media post from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner claiming a new superintendent has been named.
According to Houston-based media outlets, Turner said in a tweet that TEA Commissioner Mike Morath has tabbed ex-Dallas Independent School District (DISD) superintendent Mike Miles to lead HISD in place of the soon-to-be ousted Millard House II.
“The commissioner should confirm or deny,” the mayor wrote on Saturday. “This process is totally flawed. One person in Austin is deciding who will be the superintendent and managers.”
Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that the agency hasn’t decided on a superintendent yet.
Last month, the TEA received about 400 applications from members of the public who seek to join the HISD Board of Managers.
Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that as of Monday, the field has been narrowed down to just below 230 applicants.
Approximately 56% of the aspirants are women while nearly 45% are men, with 37% of all candidates claiming white as their race and ethnicity, per KHOU.
The duly elected school board held its final meeting on Thursday, with many trustees expressing emotion toward the end, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported.
Trustee Judith Cruz vowed she’s “not going away.”
“I will be watching, asking for transparency and sharing information with the public,” Cruz said, according to KPRC.
The station reported that Trustee Patricia K. Allen had choice words for the TEA.
“I will continue to be your elected official, even after the fake board continues with their hostile takeover,” Allen said. “There is no way that one man should be able to overturn the votes of one million people.”
A key responsibility of the Board of Managers, which is slated to be seated on or before June 1, will be to work closely with the state-appointed superintendent.