HOUSTON – Expect a lot of teacher turnover this summer in Houston ISD. And more job cuts are coming for other staff, including custodial and maintenance workers.
“Almost every single department had to cut positions,” Superintendent Mike Miles confirmed this afternoon.
Teacher renewals, he said are happening right now and some will not be asked back.
“That’s what principals have been doing, they’ve been looking at data. . . and making decisions around that,” Miles said. “Literally, this is happening as we speak.”
The end of this school year has been wrapped in a wave of tension after KPRC 2 confirmed on April 26 that some employees were being told their last day on the job would be June 28. The district would not confirm how many employees were affected, but said the job cuts process has been going on since January and would continue.
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The district also told KPRC 2 they’d try to keep the cuts as far away from students and classrooms as possible and employees who are let go can also look at other open positions with the district.
“I want to make sure we’re not conflating teacher non-renewals with cuts,” Miles said, underscoring he is more than confident the district can fill any teaching positions needed before school starts again in the Fall.
“Take for example the 130 NES schools. There are 5,100 teacher positions in those schools for next year. So that’s nearly half the teaching positions in the district. Of these positions, we had over 5,500 teachers, internally apply and close to 4,000 were accepted,” Miles said, adding they made hundreds of offers to applicants at last week’s job fair where he says 2,000 teachers applied for 800 positions.
KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding pressed Miles on the ability to hire qualified, certified teachers and leaders.
“Yes is the answer,” Miles said and continued with a statement more about attitude than aptitude. “The real question is will we be able to fill our positions with people who have the continuing improvement mindset.”
MIles said the district had to close a gap of 450 million dollars 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.”
KPRC 2′s Goulding talked with a parent this afternoon who is very active in the school community and has two kids who go to HISD schools.
“I was told by one of the teachers that 11 of our teachers received notice,” Rochelle Cabe told Goulding. The principal of the school, which Cabe did not want to name, is also being let go, she says.
“I’m devastated,” Cabe said, talking about one particular teacher.
“This teacher has been invaluable for my child. My child is a sensitive child. My son who is in elementary school and he is very, dependent on a teacher that has a personal connection with him.”
Cabe says she’s concerned about how the district will find and hire qualified teachers.
“I’m absolutely concerned. I don’t understand how they’re going to set up for the next year.”
Ahead of the meeting, KPRC 2 viewers also reached out to us, saying about a dozen teachers and the principal at Herod Elementary School were notified that Friday was their last day of employment.
Some viewers also said multiple teachers at Briargrove ES received the same notice.
In response, HISD officials said that the district has been making decisions about staffing for the 2024-2025 school year. They added that in some cases, either the employee or HISD will decide that it doesn’t make sense for the employee to continue working in the District.
Miles said teachers who do not get renewed or invited to return next year can appeal the decision and their appeal would go before the school board for approval or rejection.
Read their full statement below:
“HISD, like all other districts, is making decisions about staffing for the 24-25 school year. In most cases, contracts for teachers and principals will be renewed. In some cases, either the employee or HISD will decide that it doesn’t make sense for the employee to continue working in the District. That process will continue over the next several weeks. All staffing decisions made by HISD are to help ensure all students have access to high-quality instruction every day. We continue to see the vast majority of HISD teachers rise to the challenge of serving all students well.”