HISD - State of Texas to Takeover School District

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

HISD will be sued like a motherfucker for that, i assume. 

[Captainant 27,479]

5 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

HISD will be sued like a motherfucker for that, i assume. 

Well that and they broke the fucking law if they fired the people who were maintaining it

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/ED/htm/ED.38.htm

Quote

Sec. 38.017. AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR.

(e) A school district shall ensure that an automated external defibrillator is used and maintained in accordance with standards established under Chapter 779, Health and Safety Code.

(f) This section does not:

(1) waive any immunity from liability of a school district or its officers or employees;

(2) create any liability for or a cause of action against a school district or its officers or employees; or

(3) waive any immunity from liability under Section 74.151, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

 

[atomheartbevo 89,465]

26 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

HISD Board of Trustees also approved the sale of $80 million in property even though it doesn't know which buildings or properties will be sold or which schools may be affected.  

11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

HISD will be sued like a motherfucker for that, i assume. 

2 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Well that and they broke the fucking law if they fired the people who were maintaining it

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/ED/htm/ED.38.htm

All of this is by design.

[Nivek 16,866]

Yep, HISD will be sued, tax payers will pay, Miles and Abbott will just high-five as more children are harmed or killed on their watch.

[miguelito 11,220]

It could have been worse. 

[Frank Drebin 5,618]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/nearly-150-houston-isd-schools-improve-letter-grades-in-unofficial-2024-tea-accountability-ratings/ar-AA1p4xg9?ocid=BingNewsVerp

Hopefully this is legit and not just juking stats.

[Samson's Wig 3,182]

So TEA gave themselves a letter grade bump?  Seems legit.

[tokamak 6,352]

The Landing has all the grades here: https://houstonlanding.org/houston-isd-released-its-projected-accountability-grades-see-how-each-school-scored/

This is good. Improvement is good. Certainly better than the alternative. The caveat of course is that TEA ratings are heavily based on standardized test scores, and Miles's NES system is designed to....improve standardized test scores.

[Catdaddyhorn 3,444]

Is it true that HISD got rid of GT level classes at Frank Black?

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

12 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Is it true that HISD got rid of GT level classes at Frank Black?

@Nivek Will know. 

[Mez2 4,021]

I haven't heard that, but not the most current with school updates. Our son just started there

 

Edit: we got a link for GT testing request earlier this week so, I dunno

Edited August 23 by Mez2

[Nivek 16,866]

15 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Is it true that HISD got rid of GT level classes at Frank Black?

Sort of.  Previously they had Vanguard, AP, and general education.  Vanguard was one of the largest groups of students with something like 2/3rds of the kids from OFE meeting those standards.  AP however allowed kids who didn't test high enough to be Vanguard to still take on some more rigor than the gen. ed. kids.   

Spoiler

One of the flaws with the Vanguard program was that a kid could be advanced in Math, but behind in reading, and still qualify for Vanguard.   And in order to maintain Vanguard classes, you had to remain in the Vanguard program for 2 of your core courses and you could 'drop' down into AP for the other two.   

Prior to the start of the year, we were informed the school is doing away with Vanguard/AP and rolling them into just Honors.    They are still doing GT testing however now children need to qualify in more than one subject in order to be accepted into the program.   

Spoiler

 I do believe this is district wide, but I have not verified it and I do not want to mislead.

Tangent #2

I spoke with another mom of a vanguard/honors kid (8th grade) at FBMS and she confirmed some of the useless teachers and administrators, the challenges her kid has which is doing her work in 5 minutes and then fucking off for the rest of the class or having an affable science teacher who basically has the kids teach themselves the material.   When we started chatting her fear is that if more involved parents just give the fuck up and leave, it will also create more work for her as she also has a 5th grader this year.   Her husband, was ready to pull the ripcord long ago.   

[Catdaddyhorn 3,444]

Ok that makes more sense. I couldnt see them doing away with a mechanism to test into higher math et al, but then again if your goal is to destroy public education anything is possible. 

[Nivek 16,866]

4 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Ok that makes more sense. I couldnt see them doing away with a mechanism to test into higher math et al, but then again if your goal is to destroy public education anything is possible. 

To be fair, my boy reported to me they were teaching inequalities in class last week, in the 7th grade honors program.   I guess they want the kids to suck so the BOY scores are as low as possible to game the system?  

I know another boy who is in Algebra right now, and they dumped him in with the 8th graders, including for lunch.  He is already a slightly built kid.  

[Dennis Taylor 18,712]

More HISD chicanery 

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/10/30/who-are-the-hisd-staff-at-the-center-of-the-teaching-certification-scandal/

[kevwun 15,669]

That one seems unrelated to the State sponsored BS.  It reads like good old fashioned fraud.

[TKthunder2 4,981]

On 10/30/2024 at 2:55 PM, Dennis Taylor said:

More HISD chicanery 

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/10/30/who-are-the-hisd-staff-at-the-center-of-the-teaching-certification-scandal/

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/11/03/us/houston-teacher-certification-scheme

[UT_OB1 2,200]

53 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/11/03/us/houston-teacher-certification-scheme

Lolz. Probably belongs in cops thread.  Needing to have an attack of conscience as opposed to just having one all the time makes this person a good candidate for a cop.  Although they’ll have to figure out how to completely stop the attacks to move up  

 

A former coach in the district who was applying for a job as a police officer in another part of the state had what Ogg called “an attack of conscience” and notified the education agency.

[Nivek 16,866]

Received this email from Mike Miles whining this AM.    It starts with gaslighting and whines about not giving billions of tax payer money to an un-elected unaccountable grifter who has funneled public money to his own enterprise.   

Spoiler

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ― Nelson Mandela

Dear HISD Community:

As you know, HISD voters did not vote to approve the bond proposal.

As the results came in on Tuesday, I kept thinking about a conversation I had with the Principal at Bonham Elementary School last week. She relayed how hopeful her community was – parents and staff – that the bond would pass. Their crumbling temporary buildings would finally be replaced with a safer, more appropriate facility. Bonham serves some of the highest need students in our community. They’re doing the hard work to improve instruction, and we as a community let them down.

For other families with students in crumbling buildings, I don’t need to tell you how badly we needed this bond. These investments should have been made years ago. In fact, we had not planned to advance a bond at all, but once we saw for ourselves the unspeakable conditions at many schools, it became obvious we could not fully transform this District without tackling our failing facilities.

In this instance, the politics of adults beat out the needs of our children. It’s unfortunate and wrong, but I want to assure you that it will not limit our ability to do the things that our students need. I know our most effective principals and teachers can reach students even in the worst of facilities, because they’ve been doing so for more than a year. Teaching and learning will continue, and we will continue to transform this District for all students.

I cannot promise our aging facilities and systems will never be a barrier to student learning. We will do our best to keep long expired heating and cooling systems running, but on very hot or very cold days, we are likely going to have to close campuses to keep students safe. More frequently, students are going to be forced to learn in conditions that are not ideal, in classrooms that are either too hot or too cold to learn comfortably.

Keeping schools safe will remain our top priority. The HISD Police Department and our Facilities and Maintenance Operations team is constantly searching for grant money, and we will be looking to the State of Texas to provide additional resources for school security. We will make these investments as soon as funds become available.

I will acknowledge, I was very optimistic about this bond proposal. There was a window of time before the board vote when we could have done what prior elected boards and administrations have done – which is to avoid hard choices and hope the future would take care of itself. We chose to go forward, because the conditions in our schools made it obvious – our kids cannot wait.

I believed this bond was a unique opportunity for this community to come together on behalf of its children. I’m sure many of you felt the same and are very disappointed in the result. I share your disappointment, but I also hope you will remain optimistic. Our accomplishments far outweigh our setbacks, and most importantly, we have and will continue to put the needs of our students first.

I replied "no trust, no bond" to this email, knowing their is no chance he will receive it.   I am greeted by the following message: 

This account is not regularly monitored. If you have questions, please call 713-556-6005.   

For my own amusement, I called.   It is a recording that tells me their office hours and if there is an emergency call the police.   There is no option to speak, ask a question or leave a message.   Just more evidence of the lack of accountability.   

 

[Captainant 27,479]

35 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Received this email from Mike Miles whining this AM.    It starts with gaslighting and whines about not giving billions of tax payer money to an un-elected unaccountable grifter who has funneled public money to his own enterprise.   

  Reveal hidden contents

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ― Nelson Mandela

Dear HISD Community:

As you know, HISD voters did not vote to approve the bond proposal.

As the results came in on Tuesday, I kept thinking about a conversation I had with the Principal at Bonham Elementary School last week. She relayed how hopeful her community was – parents and staff – that the bond would pass. Their crumbling temporary buildings would finally be replaced with a safer, more appropriate facility. Bonham serves some of the highest need students in our community. They’re doing the hard work to improve instruction, and we as a community let them down.

For other families with students in crumbling buildings, I don’t need to tell you how badly we needed this bond. These investments should have been made years ago. In fact, we had not planned to advance a bond at all, but once we saw for ourselves the unspeakable conditions at many schools, it became obvious we could not fully transform this District without tackling our failing facilities.

In this instance, the politics of adults beat out the needs of our children. It’s unfortunate and wrong, but I want to assure you that it will not limit our ability to do the things that our students need. I know our most effective principals and teachers can reach students even in the worst of facilities, because they’ve been doing so for more than a year. Teaching and learning will continue, and we will continue to transform this District for all students.

I cannot promise our aging facilities and systems will never be a barrier to student learning. We will do our best to keep long expired heating and cooling systems running, but on very hot or very cold days, we are likely going to have to close campuses to keep students safe. More frequently, students are going to be forced to learn in conditions that are not ideal, in classrooms that are either too hot or too cold to learn comfortably.

Keeping schools safe will remain our top priority. The HISD Police Department and our Facilities and Maintenance Operations team is constantly searching for grant money, and we will be looking to the State of Texas to provide additional resources for school security. We will make these investments as soon as funds become available.

I will acknowledge, I was very optimistic about this bond proposal. There was a window of time before the board vote when we could have done what prior elected boards and administrations have done – which is to avoid hard choices and hope the future would take care of itself. We chose to go forward, because the conditions in our schools made it obvious – our kids cannot wait.

I believed this bond was a unique opportunity for this community to come together on behalf of its children. I’m sure many of you felt the same and are very disappointed in the result. I share your disappointment, but I also hope you will remain optimistic. Our accomplishments far outweigh our setbacks, and most importantly, we have and will continue to put the needs of our students first.

I replied "no trust, no bond" to this email, knowing their is no chance he will receive it.   I am greeted by the following message: 

This account is not regularly monitored. If you have questions, please call 713-556-6005.   

For my own amusement, I called.   It is a recording that tells me their office hours and if there is an emergency call the police.   There is no option to speak, ask a question or leave a message.   Just more evidence of the lack of accountability.   

 

Well I'm sure that's gonna get better fast

[Nivek 16,866]

Well, with the outcome of the election, special education (SPED) is on the chopping block for the nation, as the incoming Trump administration has vowed to end the department of education.  According to Forbes, the IDEA funding (approximately $15 billion) will be sent to the states for the states to determine how to spend it.  Which means, parents and people who live in a state like Texas, will now have to lobby and beg our state leadership to fund our districts.   Considering how the current leadership has punished the cities based on voting, by sending money to their base (through measures like disaster relief or RobinHood) there is little to be optimistic about.   

For some recent history, due to a legal ruling, Texas special education lost $300 million in federal support (from Medicaid) for the 2023 year, which created a $5 million budget shortfall for HISD.   Unfortunately, SPED funding is murky, so the idea of an overhaul or living up to the promises (up to 40% of the costs supported by the Fed) was always welcomed, however there was little to no political push to help clear this up, because we do not elect serious people to handle serious problems.   

So putting this all together.  SPED programs are likely to become another political football without the federal guardrails to keep bad actors from punishing people.   This impacts some of our most vulnerable population and those who live with them.   SPED services include supporting people who need a little help with speech, dyslexia, OT for motor skills and emotional regulation, autism support, and diaper changes for children who have severe motor or intellectual disabilities.   

 

[Samson's Wig 3,182]

It would be challenging to imagine adults using special needs kids for political and monetary gain if we hadn't already seen it on full display in Texas.  Fuck every last one of these people, and yes, they're exactly who you think they are.

[Updawg 2,261]

Yeah it’s bad enough as it is. I feel for people with young kids, I’m glad mine is almost done.

I wonder if young intelligent couples will start reconsidering having kids. It already is happening for many reasons but we just keep adding reasons. I know I’d be thinking twice if I was younger

[Brisketexan 104,686]

4 minutes ago, Updawg said:

I wonder if young intelligent couples will start reconsidering having kids.

As with most everything else, this particular shitshow is going to be hardest on the very people who voted for it in the largest numbers.  Wealthy people?  They've got the means to get their kids taken care of elsewhere.  The poorer, less educated folks who voted for this exact outcome?  They're uber-fucked.  Their special needs kids are hosed.

And that's the point.  The cruelty is the point.

[atomheartbevo 89,465]

1 hour ago, Updawg said:

I wonder if young intelligent couples will start reconsidering having kids. It already is happening for many reasons but we just keep adding reasons. I know I’d be thinking twice if I was younger

Young intelligent couples probably have the means to live in another state.  And I don’t blame them.  

[Samson's Wig 3,182]

51 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

As with most everything else, this particular shitshow is going to be hardest on the very people who voted for it in the largest numbers.  Wealthy people?  They've got the means to get their kids taken care of elsewhere.  The poorer, less educated folks who voted for this exact outcome?  They're uber-fucked.  Their special needs kids are hosed.

And that's the point.  The cruelty is the point.

I feel guilty in some ways (some version of survivor's guilt, I suppose) that my kids are getting all the help they need despite attending public school because we have the means to ensure it happens outside of the school system, along with the time, energy, and know-how to ensure the educators directly involved are doing their jobs.  We can also pull them out and put them in private school any time if needed, or simply pick up and move elsewhere without much fuss.  I recognize that the vast majority are not in this position. 

I mostly feel bad for the poor kids in inner-city schools, though. Most of the people who vote for this nonsense live in areas where it doesn't impact them (big shocker there).   Suburban school districts are flooded with resources that inner-city districts do not have (because inner cities have been paying to build up those suburban districts for three decades).  This is the game these assholes are playing, and it's kind of hard to blame (although I still do) suburbanites for having their heads in the sand when they don't feel the direct impact of the twats they keep electing to office.  

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

On 11/6/2024 at 10:24 AM, Nivek said:

Received this email from Mike Miles whining this AM.    It starts with gaslighting and whines about not giving billions of tax payer money to an un-elected unaccountable grifter who has funneled public money to his own enterprise.   

  Hide contents

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ― Nelson Mandela

Dear HISD Community:

As you know, HISD voters did not vote to approve the bond proposal.

As the results came in on Tuesday, I kept thinking about a conversation I had with the Principal at Bonham Elementary School last week. She relayed how hopeful her community was – parents and staff – that the bond would pass. Their crumbling temporary buildings would finally be replaced with a safer, more appropriate facility. Bonham serves some of the highest need students in our community. They’re doing the hard work to improve instruction, and we as a community let them down.

For other families with students in crumbling buildings, I don’t need to tell you how badly we needed this bond. These investments should have been made years ago. In fact, we had not planned to advance a bond at all, but once we saw for ourselves the unspeakable conditions at many schools, it became obvious we could not fully transform this District without tackling our failing facilities.

In this instance, the politics of adults beat out the needs of our children. It’s unfortunate and wrong, but I want to assure you that it will not limit our ability to do the things that our students need. I know our most effective principals and teachers can reach students even in the worst of facilities, because they’ve been doing so for more than a year. Teaching and learning will continue, and we will continue to transform this District for all students.

I cannot promise our aging facilities and systems will never be a barrier to student learning. We will do our best to keep long expired heating and cooling systems running, but on very hot or very cold days, we are likely going to have to close campuses to keep students safe. More frequently, students are going to be forced to learn in conditions that are not ideal, in classrooms that are either too hot or too cold to learn comfortably.

Keeping schools safe will remain our top priority. The HISD Police Department and our Facilities and Maintenance Operations team is constantly searching for grant money, and we will be looking to the State of Texas to provide additional resources for school security. We will make these investments as soon as funds become available.

I will acknowledge, I was very optimistic about this bond proposal. There was a window of time before the board vote when we could have done what prior elected boards and administrations have done – which is to avoid hard choices and hope the future would take care of itself. We chose to go forward, because the conditions in our schools made it obvious – our kids cannot wait.

I believed this bond was a unique opportunity for this community to come together on behalf of its children. I’m sure many of you felt the same and are very disappointed in the result. I share your disappointment, but I also hope you will remain optimistic. Our accomplishments far outweigh our setbacks, and most importantly, we have and will continue to put the needs of our students first.

I replied "no trust, no bond" to this email, knowing their is no chance he will receive it.   I am greeted by the following message: 

This account is not regularly monitored. If you have questions, please call 713-556-6005.   

For my own amusement, I called.   It is a recording that tells me their office hours and if there is an emergency call the police.   There is no option to speak, ask a question or leave a message.   Just more evidence of the lack of accountability.   

 

I like the part in paragraph 3 where he basically said that they can still do everything students need. Cool. Glad you didn't need the money after all, you grifting fuck. 

[Nivek 16,866]

15 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

As with most everything else, this particular shitshow is going to be hardest on the very people who voted for it in the largest numbers.  Wealthy people?  They've got the means to get their kids taken care of elsewhere.  The poorer, less educated folks who voted for this exact outcome?  They're uber-fucked.  Their special needs kids are hosed.

And that's the point.  The cruelty is the point.

I might be on the better side of the bell curve, but the idea of shelling out $20K-50K annually to educate 1/3 of my kids a bit daunting.  Especially if the status quo alters and I need to 2x or 3x that figure.   I would much rather open retirement accounts for them.  

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

6 minutes ago, Nivek said:

I might be on the better side of the bell curve, but the idea of shelling out $20K-50K annually to educate 1/3 of my kids a bit daunting.  Especially if the status quo alters and I need to 2x or 3x that figure.   I would much rather open retirement accounts for them.  

How's your job when it comes to relocating to a blue state?

[Nivek 16,866]

11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

How's your job when it comes to relocating to a blue state?

I am ready to bolt.  Wife isn't.  I think my plan is to schedule vacations in blue states and if that works, then try to entice the kids to nag her.  

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

4 minutes ago, Nivek said:

I am ready to bolt.  Wife isn't.  I think my plan is to schedule vacations in blue states and if that works, then try to entice the kids to nag her.  

What's her hesitation? I've got a wife who won't leave Texas either, at least not while grandparents are nearby and alive, but I feel like if he had special needs and was about to get everything cut the fuck off by the state, she'd be willing to reconsider. The blunt guilt of the situation isn't enough to sway her? 

[atomheartbevo 89,465]

11 minutes ago, Nivek said:

I am ready to bolt.  Wife isn't.  I think my plan is to schedule vacations in blue states and if that works, then try to entice the kids to nag her.  

6 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

What's her hesitation? I've got a wife who won't leave Texas either, at least not while grandparents are nearby and alive, but I feel like if he had special needs and was about to get everything cut the fuck off by the state, she'd be willing to reconsider. The blunt guilt of the situation isn't enough to sway her? 

We are down to pension stuff, which is understandable and will soon resolve itself in a year or two once once she hits whatever age/employment combo is needed.

And we have an elderly relative helping to keep us here.

Help me find the strength to do the right thing lads!

[Nivek 16,866]

3 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

What's her hesitation? I've got a wife who won't leave Texas either, at least not while grandparents are nearby and alive, but I feel like if he had special needs and was about to get everything cut the fuck off by the state, she'd be willing to reconsider. The blunt guilt of the situation isn't enough to sway her? 

Her parents live in Texas (though about 5 hours away) and she has lived here most of her life (only went to E. Tennessee with me for a few years) and her friends are really all here.   I was hoping for Maryland, but I really don't have a specific landing spot.   

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

13 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Her parents live in Texas (though about 5 hours away) and she has lived here most of her life (only went to E. Tennessee with me for a few years) and her friends are really all here.   I was hoping for Maryland, but I really don't have a specific landing spot.   

Does one need a specific landing spot?

 

Massachusetts has tremendous public schools. 

[CooterBrown 17,929]

5 hours ago, Nivek said:

I am ready to bolt.  Wife isn't.  I think my plan is to schedule vacations in blue states and if that works, then try to entice the kids to nag her.  

Get a better wife.

[huge 3,789]

How this shakes out in SBISD is going to be interesting.  Very red and mostly public and plenty of meat to be cut off the bones.

[Captainant 27,479]

14 hours ago, huge said:

How this shakes out in SBISD is going to be interesting.  Very red and mostly public and plenty of meat to be cut off the bones.

I imagine they're going to be following whatever Miles' lead is, our school board is pretty kookie - they banned a performance of James and the Giant Peach because a MAN was playing a LADYbug (and other characters)

[huge 3,789]

27 minutes ago, Captainant said:

I imagine they're going to be following whatever Miles' lead is, our school board is pretty kookie - they banned a performance of James and the Giant Peach because a MAN was playing a LADYbug (and other characters)

Jessica Gerland sounds like a load of fun at parties.  So it wasnt the district that brought it up, it was a dumbass parent.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/spring-branch-isd-play/285-daeb472a-1889-41ba-81a4-6d8f24b50601

[Captainant 27,479]

17 minutes ago, huge said:

Jessica Gerland sounds like a load of fun at parties.  So it wasnt the district that brought it up, it was a dumbass parent.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/spring-branch-isd-play/285-daeb472a-1889-41ba-81a4-6d8f24b50601

Sure, but the board validated the claim and banned the performance literally because a male actor was playing, among other roles in the production, a ladybug. 

[atomheartbevo 89,465]

38 minutes ago, huge said:

Jessica Gerland sounds like a load of fun at parties.  So it wasnt the district that brought it up, it was a dumbass parent.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/spring-branch-isd-play/285-daeb472a-1889-41ba-81a4-6d8f24b50601

20 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Sure, but the board validated the claim and banned the performance literally because a male actor was playing, among other roles in the production, a ladybug. 

Either the people who supported banning James and Giant Peach were bullied as kids.

Or they weren't bullied enough.

[SydneyCarton 47,925]

16 hours ago, huge said:

How this shakes out in SBISD is going to be interesting.  Very red and mostly public and plenty of meat to be cut off the bones.

Is there? I work with someone who lives in SBISD and she's continually bitching about how much money already goes out of the district via Robinhood. 

[Js1 85,141]

1 hour ago, Captainant said:

Sure, but the board validated the claim and banned the performance literally because a male actor was playing, among other roles in the production, a ladybug. 

Lindsay Graham is a man playing a ladybug every day but you don't see them bitching about that