After almost one year at the helm of the state’s largest school district, HISD Superintendent Millard House II says the speed bump that was COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror and that big changes are proposed in his five-year strategic plan.
That includes a change in the way HISD budget business has been done in the past.
“A sustainable and equitable budget is something that has to happen,” he said. “We’ve been a school district for too long that has really focused on having a deficit and being ok with having a deficit. That’s not something I want to work towards on an annual basis. I want to work toward the opposite end of the spectrum.”
He says that cuts can be expected and that none of it will be easy but it will be necessary.
House II’s strategic plans have the following six commitments:
- Building trust and reliability for families and the community
- Providing equitable opportunities and resources at every school (librarians, nurses, social workers, mental health help)
- Ensuring great schools and programs are in every community
- Promoting high-quality teaching and learning (i.e. expanding pre-K by 22 classrooms)
- Delivering effective services to special needs children; inconsistency has been the biggest problem in recent years.
- Cultivating world-class talent: Raise salaries to keep the best and attract the best teachers
See more of the plan and the expected fallout on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and on HOUSTON NEWSMAKERS EXTRA ONLINE.
Russia attacks continue against Ukraine
Rice University Political Science Professor Richard Stoll, Ph.D., is a scholar of international conflict.
He is a guest on this week’s Houston Newsmakers and says the attack on Ukraine has been a miscalculation and that Russians need to be reminded about at least two things.
“One, NATO is serious about this, and two, the Ukrainians are incredibly serious about this,” he said. “You are not going to get anything out of continuing to try to conquer them or part of their country, so let’s think about how we can end this now or in the near future.”
Professor Stoll discusses the challenges of stopping the attacks against Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO reactions to it, and much more on HOUSTON NEWSMAKERS EXTRA ONLINE.
- For Information on this week’s Houston Newsmakers program
- · Millard House II, Superintendent, Houston Independent School District
- · Website: https://www.houstonisd.org/superintendent
- · Richard Stoll, Ph.D. Rice University Political Science Professor