The destruction of America's public education system

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:02 AM, SL Xpress said:

I don't understand what you mean by private prison scams of the 80s and 90s. They're still very active as far as I know. To the tune of about 8% of the total prison population. 

My big problem with private prisons is that the justice system is one of those places you should never introduce a profit motive. It will inherently corrupt the justice system. By its nature. In about a dozen ways. It's a horrible idea. Might as well have private police forces and private firefighting. Which, of course, we do in places. There's no justice system that's going to be anywhere close to perfect. But it's a good idea to start by not purposefully destroying it from the inside. Which is what private prisons do.

Public roads going to tollways is more a case of government bureaucracy at work and how we measure things. The federal government long ago, in a good intent way, began emphasizing various methods of getting the biggest bang for their federal buck. A part of that was to emphasize road projects that came up with more than the 10% from local entities that put them on the list. It was found that local entities could form a quasi government organization, the equivalent of a municipal utility district, sell bonds to finance the construction, use those bonds to up the ante from 10% to 20% or 30%, and then suddenly that project got bumped to the top of the federal list. And then the maintenance of those bonds are sold to a contractor who was able to profit off the difference collected versus what had to be applied to pay off the bond. 

Like many activities of government, there are all kinds of consequences. But the core value - stretch the impact of federal highway transportation dollars by encouraging local entities to put more skin in the game - wasn't evil, per se. But once a government program is funded, you're automatically going to create a group that benefits from that funding, and they're going to do their best to expand its use, as well as try to discover ways to exploit it. But that's true no matter who the beneficiary is. Then it becomes a matter of which beneficiaries do you identify with the most politically. 

I'll also say I'm not against the idea of paying for road use in high traffic areas at premium times - but only if the resulting revenue is used to support and subsidize a robust public transportation system. But I don't know of a case where that has happened specifically. Which makes no sense to me. 

Public transportation will never be revenue neutral, and it shouldn't be expected to. What better place to generate revenue to support it than high traffic areas at peak hours?

On the Charter School discussion, one of my best friends taught at Austin Discovery School for years. This idea that all charter schools are profit centers is an extremely broad generalization. Doesn't mean it has no merit, but that's certainly not the case 100% of the time. That school for sure was no profit center. They barely kept the doors open. 

I'll also say our schools have fundamental issues that go far beyond the implementation of charter schools. If charter schools ceased to exist tomorrow we'd still be in serious trouble. The biggest problem with public schools in my opinion is that parents naturally want to give their child every advantage they can, and one of the biggest ways to do that is to make sure they're enrolled in the place that can provide the best education. Which is invariably a lot more expensive to attend than a public school available to other students. Then there's also the issue of how do you provide a better equality of opportunity when so much of a child's education is determined by their home environment. We're not taking children away from their parents en masse at birth to place them in government housing. But regardless, what we are doing right now cements and perpetuates those issues rather than addressing them.

I also have a fundamental problem with how the school system incentivizes ambition. The most ambitious school teachers are always going to seek out administration jobs rather than stay in the classroom, because it's the only method to maximize their pay. If there was some kind of equitable way of rewarding the best teachers financially for staying in the classroom, I'd be all for it. But any measuring stick I come up with is fraught with its own issues. That doesn't mean something shouldn't be sought out, though. Trying to keep the best educators in the classroom would be a seismic shift in certain ways in terms of how we view public education in this country.

I agree with you on the prison issue.  I worked for TDC during that time.  It was a case of overcrowding initially brought on by the Wayne Justice order.  It was faster and easier to contract with private groups such as Wackenhut than it was to build more State units.  Then it became an issue on how to keep those private units full to keep them open. Those units (and the existing State units) provided lots of jobs for rural communities like Lockhart and Dilley.  There were a lot incarcerated who didn't need to be just to keep the money flowing.    Did we start needlessly imprisoning more to press for the need for privatization, or the other way around?    Either way, you know lots of money was involved.

As far as tollroads, living rural, I don't keep up with their politics much.  I should have left that one alone.  

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

On 3/3/2023 at 6:02 AM, BevoAbyss said:

I long ago realized that "school choice" is code for "school Christian."

The family's goal is kids raised on creationism and all kinds of anti-science idiocy, fact-free faith, and bogus world history. The GQP and Christian leadership goal is a nation ruled by the Bible, not the Constitution or any other secular ideas. Soon they'll be teaching that Jesus lassoed dinosaurs and convened with "Ancient Aliens" in the "Garden of Eden" on a flat earth created by "God" 6,000 years ago—all for the Christians to rule. Hell, that's probably on page one of their "history" book. 

The attack on secular education began with Reagan and Falwell and the "Moral Majority." The trajectory goes like this:

Moral Majority (1980s) >>> United We Stand (1990s) >>> Tea Party (2000s) >>> MAGA (2010s-2020s).

We can laugh and roll our eyes, but make no mistake: GQP's end goal is an iron-fisted fascist theocracy for Flat Earth America.

I think that the Bible thing is a cover and copout.  I think the bulk of them are not very bright people, or lazy, or both.  They are naggingly insecure about that and band with others who hold up the BIble and yell "We don't need science, we have faith in God!"    That's why the 'Pray for our Nation' yard signs irked me so much when they were popular.  It's like they don't want to be bothered to try to understand any socio-economic, ecological or other issues to make informed votes.  They just throw their hands in the air to hand it over to some all knowing God.  Whatever happens is God's plan.

Their willful ignorance has been preyed on by both politicians and charlatan hucksters like Osteen, Hinn, Robertson.  Look no further than Wilks and Dunn who are using both church and politics for their benefit.  The most of them don't even read or study the Bible, they take whatever gets spewed at them first,  second or third hand, just like Fox, OAN, etc.

It's so much about greed and insecurity and going along to feel part of something important.  So much more than the Bible, it's just a prop.  If they were truly using Christian tenets, our social assistance program would be ten times larger than our corporate welfare program.  

[Willfully Horn 8,017]

44 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

Public roads going to tollways is more a case of government bureaucracy at work and how we measure things

Toll roads are the consequence of the lack of political will to spend public dollars on roads. Despite government designing, building, and maintaining roadways more cost effectively than the private sector.

[BevoAbyss 2,059]

19 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

It's so much about greed and insecurity and going along to feel part of something important.  So much more than the Bible, it's just a prop.  If they were truly using Christian tenets, our social assistance program would be ten times larger than our corporate welfare program.  

What's more important than believing that God — the Creator of the entire freaking universe — is guiding me personally?

What could be more important than the Creator ordaining me and my tribe to purity, conquest, salvation, and eternal destiny—after an apocalyptic struggle of "good" versus "evil"? That is the ultimate existential promise of the Bible. It all begins with Genesis and ends with Revelations. Beginning: God created the universe. End: after apocalypse and death, me and my tribe get eternal destiny with God in a 6,000 year old universe. Back in the day at UT, I discussed/debated all this with PhD religious educators, Bible thumpers, creationists, and even the students running the Christian tables and passing out pamphlets in the "Free Speech" area of the West Mall in the 1980s-1990s. 

So NASA and 21st century cosmology say the universe contains two trillion galaxies spread across 100 billion light years and is 13.75 billion years old. And we are a tiny species that evolved on a tiny planet in a remote part of one galaxy. Does not matter!

It's all a bunch of pre-scientific fables. And it gives total existential comfort to the believers, especially in a scientific universe in which we are all utterly insignificant in the larger scheme of things. Believing that your destiny is ordained by the Creator of the universe is the most epic form of narcissism and imaginary self-importance. Osteen and other mega-preachers are merely the best at tapping into existential fears with self-important narcissism. Prophets, prayers, profits, and personal destinies. For me! All perfect for the screens of TV, social media, and 21st century capitalism. 

.......

As for the so-called Christian tenets of peace and charity, those come only after the bloodbath of colonization, conquest, and conversion. That's exactly what was imposed by the Euro Christians upon Native/Indigenous Peoples in South, Central, and North America. Peace after violent conquest. How the hell did the Lone Star State get its hands on the Permian basin that funds our great university? You know the answer. 

As for their version of "freedom," it is limited to freedom within religion — not outside it. All those GQP-MAGA narcissists brandishing AR-15s, that's the history and future of religion in America. And that's our warning of violence to come. 

[BevoAbyss 2,059]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:43 AM, Biff Tannen said:

I don’t know where @BevoAbysscame from, but he/she needs a spot on the Ledge committee. 

I thought brisketexan was the committee!

My user name definitely checks out. I am halfway over the ledge and peering into the abyss. Only the cosmic spirit of Bevo is preventing the free fall into oblivion! 

[horn4life 3,760]

Here's a great example of EXACTLY where GOP control of our schools will end up.  A fucking clusterfuck of a mess.  Because while Republicans are great at getting angry, they are fucking terrible at fixing anything.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/maga-fication-north-idaho-college-125412374.html "Mostly, people seemed stunned that it had actually come to this..." was the early line in the article that caught my eye.  Because a lot of folks honestly thought that Trump neighbor or politician ultimately really wouldn't destroy the institutions they want to run because they hate them.  Anyhow amazing article that shows the disfunction of the education system the more GOP politics become involved.  It's a pretty good article on the degradation and gradual dismemberment of norms by GOP stalwarts.  To the point where the community college may no longer even be a college. Good Article

Quote

For most of the past two years, the college’s governing board has been a volatile experiment in turning grievances into governance. Trustees backed by the county Republican Party hold a majority on the board. They have denounced liberal “indoctrination” by the college faculty and vowed to bring the school administration’s “deep state” to heel and “Make NIC Great Again.”

The injection of such sweeping political aims into the routine administration of a community college of 4,600 students, one better known locally for its technical training programs than the politics of its faculty, has devolved into a full-blown crisis. The school has faced lawsuits from two of the five presidents it has had since the start of the previous school year. A district court judge ordered one of those presidents reinstated Friday in a ruling that castigated the trustees for “steering NIC toward an iceberg.” The college has lost professors and staff and had its debt downgraded by Moody’s, which cited the school's “significant governance and management dysfunction.”

The troubles culminated last month in a letter from the regional higher education commission, which warned that the 90-year-old college could be stripped of its accreditation if changes were not made in a matter of weeks — an effective threat of closure and a potential catastrophe for Coeur d’Alene, a town of 56,000 in the Idaho Panhandle. The college is the sixth-largest employer in Kootenai County and a source of skilled labor for much of the local economy.

“As a businessperson here, it’s heartbreaking to me to be standing on the brink of the loss of this institution,” said Eve Knudtsen, owner of a Chevrolet dealership in the neighboring town of Post Falls. Knudtsen, a Republican, attended NIC, as have both of her daughters, and she said one-third of the technicians hired by her dealership came out of the school.

“It’s pretty much a dystopian farce,” said Kathleen Miller Green, an assistant professor of child development who attended the nearly six-hour, capacity-crowd meeting at the school’s student union building Feb. 22. “It’s laughable if you don’t have to live it.”

 

[nbmishoid 949]

I read this this morning.  Now the playbook is set.  Get control of local college boards (easier than pie).  Through hostile board action bankrupt and lose accreditation for the school.  Force closure.  Gut local economy.  Coming to red state local colleges and communities near you.  

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

2 hours ago, horn4life said:

Here's a great example of EXACTLY where GOP control of our schools will end up.  A fucking clusterfuck of a mess.  Because while Republicans are great at getting angry, they are fucking terrible at fixing anything.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/maga-fication-north-idaho-college-125412374.html "Mostly, people seemed stunned that it had actually come to this..." was the early line in the article that caught my eye.  Because a lot of folks honestly thought that Trump neighbor or politician ultimately really wouldn't destroy the institutions they want to run because they hate them.  Anyhow amazing article that shows the disfunction of the education system the more GOP politics become involved.  It's a pretty good article on the degradation and gradual dismemberment of norms by GOP stalwarts.  To the point where the community college may no longer even be a college. Good Article

 

I believe that’s called fucking around and finding out. 

[tokamak 6,431]

4 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I believe that’s called fucking around and finding out. 

They're not "finding out" anything. Just read the article. They're just going to paint the accreditation body as woke liberals that hate conservatives. Expect an announcement from DeSantis and Abbott setting up their new accreditation body any day now.

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

18 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I believe that’s called fucking around and finding out. 

canary in the coal mine 

losing accreditation = the school is toast 

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

11 minutes ago, tokamak said:

They're not "finding out" anything. Just read the article. They're just going to paint the accreditation body as woke liberals that hate conservatives. Expect an announcement from DeSantis and Abbott setting up their new accreditation body any day now.

wont matter, student loans are federal and companies can easily boycott non accredited colleges 

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

19 minutes ago, tokamak said:

They're not "finding out" anything. Just read the article. They're just going to paint the accreditation body as woke liberals that hate conservatives. Expect an announcement from DeSantis and Abbott setting up their new accreditation body any day now.

Well, I didn't say they would be able to connect the dots.  More leopards eating faces with the people whose faces are being eaten too stupid to realize they are now missing a face.  Or something, I got lost in the metaphor.

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

5 hours ago, nbmishoid said:

I read this this morning.  Now the playbook is set.  Get control of local college boards (easier than pie).  Through hostile board action bankrupt and lose accreditation for the school.  Force closure.  Gut local economy.  Coming to red state local colleges and communities near you.  

They'll have some group buy the campus for pennies on the dollar, then turn it into a Liberty U Lite.  They have to have someplace for all these home schooled and religious charter school kids to go for a college diploma. 

[CooterBrown 18,014]

They'll have some group buy the campus for pennies on the dollar, then turn it into a Liberty U Lite.  They have to have someplace for all these home schooled and religious charter school kids to go for a college diploma. 

So, aggy-Idaho Panhandle?

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

11 hours ago, horn4life said:

Here's a great example of EXACTLY where GOP control of our schools will end up.  A fucking clusterfuck of a mess.  Because while Republicans are great at getting angry, they are fucking terrible at fixing anything.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/maga-fication-north-idaho-college-125412374.html "Mostly, people seemed stunned that it had actually come to this..." was the early line in the article that caught my eye.  Because a lot of folks honestly thought that Trump neighbor or politician ultimately really wouldn't destroy the institutions they want to run because they hate them.  Anyhow amazing article that shows the disfunction of the education system the more GOP politics become involved.  It's a pretty good article on the degradation and gradual dismemberment of norms by GOP stalwarts.  To the point where the community college may no longer even be a college. Good Article

 

The link doesn’t work. This one does:

https://news.yahoo.com/maga-fication-north-idaho-college-125412269.html

It’s from the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/us/politics/north-idaho-college-republicans.html

Textised:

https://www.textise.net/showText.aspx?strURL=https%3A//www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/us/politics/north-idaho-college-republicans.html#site-content

One relevant pic from the article:

Brent Regan, right, the chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, with Todd Banducci, a trustee for North Idaho College.Credit...Margaret Albaugh for The New York Times

A couple quotes I noticed in the article:

Quote

The clash over the college began in 2020 when, after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, the school’s diversity council issued a statement expressing support for social justice demonstrations, including Black Lives Matter protests. The statement caught the attention of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

That year, the committee began vetting and endorsing candidates for county board positions in what are technically nonpartisan elections. In the Coeur d’Alene Press, a committee precinctwoman accused the school of supporting a “radical, racist and Marxist organization” and “guilting white male students,” and urged county residents to vote for two candidates endorsed by the committee “to balance the N.I.C. Board” in the November election.

So that’s what set it off. They cared about the murder of a black man an expressed solidarity with a movement seeking justice and equality. I don’t know what their infatuation is with labeling anything they don’t like as “Marxist” or “socialist.” They refer to CRT as a Marxist ideology as well. I’d like to hear them explain what’s Marxist about it sometime. The “racist” thing I get. That’s just pure projection.

The other is:

Quote

In an email to a conservative student, Mr. Banducci wrote that he was “battling the N.I.C. ‘deep state’ on an almost daily basis,” and complained that “the liberal progressives are quite deeply entrenched.”

In a conversation after the election, Mr. Banducci chided Mr. MacLennan, then the college president, for his wife’s support for Hillary Clinton and told him that he would give him “marching orders,” according to Mr. MacLennan.

Now deep state” can just refer to the other trustees who don’t agree with you. How casually they latch onto labels and attach them to anything they don’t like. And there’s another classic attack. The man’s wife supports Hillary Clinton and so that’s an indictment of him. As if that’s all that needs to be said. That was a favorite angle that Trump used. Suggesting that someone or their spouse supported Hillary and that’s all the evidence necessary to discredit them. I’m trying to think of one example in particular but it’s not coming to me. I think it was someone in the FBI but I can’t recall for sure. Anyway, a little later in the article we learn that Banducci and his cronies fired the school’s president “without cause” and replaced him with the wrestling coach. How fucking perfect is that? That’s as GOP as it gets.

[Also, just as an aside, fuck autocorrect for twice trying to replace “Banducci” with “a a duck.” (And just now with “a a succinct.”) Wtf? Those aren’t even expressions. Maybe if I’m capitalizing a word you can just go ahead and assume I know what I’m writing unless it’s an obvious misspelling of a common name like correcting “Smth” to “Smith” (which it didn’t do). Jesus.]

[tokamak 6,431]

16 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

wont matter, student loans are federal and companies can easily boycott non accredited colleges 

We're talking about the people who have happily politicized everything from surgical masks to K-12 education. They'll have no problem fucking around with the federal student loan program, or even inserting themselves in the hiring practices of private companies.

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

9 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

The link doesn’t work. This one does:

https://news.yahoo.com/maga-fication-north-idaho-college-125412269.html

It’s from the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/us/politics/north-idaho-college-republicans.html

Textised:

https://www.textise.net/showText.aspx?strURL=https%3A//www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/us/politics/north-idaho-college-republicans.html#site-content

One relevant pic from the article:

Brent Regan, right, the chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, with Todd Banducci, a trustee for North Idaho College.Credit...Margaret Albaugh for The New York Times

A couple quotes I noticed in the article:

So that’s what set it off. They cared about the murder of a black man an expressed solidarity with a movement seeking justice and equality. I don’t know what their infatuation is with labeling anything they don’t like as “Marxist” or “socialist.” They refer to CRT as a Marxist ideology as well. I’d like to hear them explain what’s Marxist about it sometime. The “racist” thing I get. That’s just pure projection.

The other is:

Now deep state” can just refer to the other trustees who don’t agree with you. How casually they latch onto labels and attach them to anything they don’t like. And there’s another classic attack. The man’s wife supports Hillary Clinton and so that’s an indictment of him. As if that’s all that needs to be said. That was a favorite angle that Trump used. Suggesting that someone or their spouse supported Hillary and that’s all the evidence necessary to discredit them. I’m trying to think of one example in particular but it’s not coming to me. I think it was someone in the FBI but I can’t recall for sure. Anyway, a little later in the article we learn that Banducci and his cronies fired the school’s president “without cause” and replaced him with the wrestling coach. How fucking perfect is that? That’s as GOP as it gets.

[Also, just as an aside, fuck autocorrect for twice trying to replace “Banducci” with “a a duck.” (And just now with “a a succinct.”) Wtf? Those aren’t even expressions. Maybe if I’m capitalizing a word you can just go ahead and assume I know what I’m writing unless it’s an obvious misspelling of a common name like correcting “Smth” to “Smith” (which it didn’t do). Jesus.]

But it doesn't matter when it comes to Ginny and Clarence Thomas.  Right.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

58 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

But it doesn't matter when it comes to Ginny and Clarence Thomas.  Right.

Well, to be fair, I never held the fact that Clarence Thomas is a piece of shit against his wife. I really didn’t know much about her. She proved herself to be a piece of shit totally independent of anything he ever did. In the same way that Bill and Hillary Clinton share the same center-left political philosophy, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Clarence Thomas shares his wife’s traitorous, undemocratic ideals. 

[Anwar Namtut 344]

More from Idaho: We don't need no stinking libraries.

Quote

ADA COUNTY, Idaho — First, people wanted to ban books in the library. Now, they want to take away libraries all together.

A group labeled the Concerned Citizens of Meridian filed a petition last week urging the Ada County Board of Commissioners to eliminate the Meridian Library District, claiming the district supports sexual indoctrination and refuses to discuss "obscene and sexually explicit materials."

 

It claims the MLD has refused to provide financial transparency, shut down public discourse at meetings, refused to discuss minors "access to obscene and sexually explicit materials." It also claims the MLD refused to communicate with speakers at board meetings, have allowed minors to obtain material targeted towards sexualization, that the MLD "continues to provide facilities for sexual indoctrination of minors by the Queer Straight Alliance" and that the board has a member who "supports chemical and surgical castration of minors."

The petition is also asking for a decrease in trustee terms to three years instead of six years and to "segregate" explicit material.

This is one more addition to the continuing saga of the fight to ban books that may contain stories about puberty, children's bodies and LGBTQ+ individuals. In March of 2022, the Idaho Press found that the books brought to Idaho lawmaker's attention for being "obscene" were all located in the adult or teen section.  Bills have passed through the Idaho Legislature, none becoming law, trying to criminalize librarians for providing books to minors that some legislators believe are "harmful." 

Sigh.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

Fucking potato heads. 

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

If you burn down the building, you also get rid of the books !

[HamsterHookah 112]

 

[pacman 7,355]

just changing standards to push w9rse scores on schools..i am sure itnhas nothing to do with the governor's politics 

 

 

[elguapo 4,586]

 

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

Apparently Abbott is going to start sinking large blue county schools from the inside now.    They've been rattling the swords for some time.

This is a really good article on it:  https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/education/2023/03/15/446250/texas-education-agency-takeover-houston-independent-school-district/

Texas Education Agency announces takeover of the Houston Independent School District
The state-appointed managers will hold immense power. They can control the budget, school closures, collaborations with charter networks, policies around curriculum and library books, as well as hiring or firing the superintendent, among other important decisions. 

 

Spoiler

The Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday morning plans to install state-appointed managers in place of the Houston Independent School District's elected school board. Over the past week, local and state lawmakers warned that a takeover was imminent.

"This action places a board of Houstonians — who have a firm belief that all children can learn and can achieve at high levels when properly supported — this action places that kind of board in charge of the district," Education Commissioner Mike Morath told Houston Public Media. "I think it’s actually important for families to know that this decision is not a reflection of the incredible students in Houston ISD, nor is it a reflection of the hard working teachers and staff of Houston ISD. There are many students in Houston that are truly flourishing, but there are also a large number of students in Houston who have not been given the supports necessary to succeed."

Morath described Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II as "a student-focused man of integrity," but said he will also be replaced.

The state-appointed managers will hold immense power. They can control the budget, school closures, collaborations with charter networks, policies around curriculum and library books, as well as hiring or firing the superintendent, among other important decisions.

TEA first tried to seize control of Houston ISD in 2019. The agency pointed to Wheatley High School — which failed to meet state standards — as well as dysfunctional district leadership. The move was held up by litigation until the Supreme Court of Texas ruled in TEA's favor in January while allowing the case to continue in a lower court. On Thursday, the Houston ISD school board voted 8-1 to drop the lawsuit "in order to end further expenditure of district resources, as there are no further legal recourses."

Democratic State Representative Harold Dutton took credit for the idea of a takeover, which has been opposed by many other members of his party. The idea became state law in 2015.

Changes in Houston ISD leadership — and in the law that allows these types of takeovers — added complexity to the case. Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt was a primary proponent of the changes to state law in 2021, which he argued made it easier for TEA to intervene "when a school system fails."

Bettencourt tweeted his approval of the all-Republican Texas supreme court's decision.

 

In court, TEA asserted that Houston ISD's former board members engaged in unethical, illegal behavior — like making important decisions behind closed doors. The agency also pointed to public racial tension between Black and Latino board members. But the takeover was primarily justified by years of low standardized test scores and post-graduate performance at Wheatley High School, one of the district's 280 campuses in 2019.

Wheatley received a passing accountability rating from TEA after the first takeover attempt, and Houston ISD received a solid B rating from the agency last school year.

TEA argued those factors were irrelevant.

"The commissioner's view is that, ‘Yes, HISD is a large school district, and what that means is you have some very wealthy, very high-performing schools up here that are doing great, but you also have schools like Wheatley and Kashmere that struggle year after year,’" state assistant solicitor general Kyle Highful told Texas supreme court justices in October. "And if you’re a student at one of these low-performing schools, it doesn’t help you to know that elsewhere in the district there’s a school that’s doing great. And the commissioner believes that every student should have access to a quality education."

A different district

Opponents of the takeover argue Houston ISD has made immense progress since the 2018-19 school year.

In less than 4 years, the majority of the school board trustees lost election or left office, the district hired a new superintendent, and Wheatley received a passing accountability rating.

Houston ISD trustee Judith Cruz won election in 2019 the day before the takeover push was announced.

"The current board is a different board than the one that began in the lawsuit," HISD board president Cruz wrote in October, when the Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments in the case.

Conservative Bridget Wade unseated trustee Anne Sung in 2021, two years into the legal battle over the takeover. Wade ran for office partially because of the dysfunction that prompted TEA's attempt to replace the board in 2019.

"I think they didn’t have a choice at the time," she said in October. "I think it’s maybe time for us to be able to prove ourselves without the oversight of the TEA. But again, I’ll leave that to the courts to decide."

The court sided with TEA, but did not mandate that the agency actually move forward with the takeover. A TEA spokesperson previously said the agency had at least three options: close Wheatley, appoint a conservator or install a board of managers.

Education Commissioner Morath asserted that his options are more constrained by state law.

"There have been arguments made by some about what that law says or doesn’t say, but our reading of the law is quite clear," he said. "There’s a host of statutes and rules that guide this specific action."

‘Starting from behind means you have to catch up'

Tommy Villalva was the Wheatley High School valedictorian in the 2018-19 school year before TEA launched its takeover attempt. He graduated from the University of Houston and is now managing a restaurant. He plans to attend law school.

In Villalva's final year at Wheatley, the school served 460 African American students, 403 Hispanic students, 3 Asian students and 3 white students. 94% were classified as "economically disadvantaged."

"Most minorities start from behind," he said. "And starting from behind means you have to catch up. And you’re playing catch up for so long that eventually your status quo catches up to you."

The school's special ed population was also significantly higher than district and statewide averages. More than 20% of the students at Wheatley were in special education, compared to 7% across the district and 10% across the state. The bulk of the school's 179 students in special ed were included in the state's accountability rating.

 

Community advocate and educator Ruth Kravitz is with Community Voices for Public Education, which opposes the takeover.

"Almost half of the kids in the school are coming to the table with a more complicated set of experiences than people whose parents have tutors at home and printers at home and all those other things," she said. "Great work can be done in the classroom, but it’s not going to manifest on these arbitrary tests with the arbitrary rating system that implies that learning is happening here and not happening over there."

Opponents of the takeover argue that the state needs to spend more money on public schools instead of enforcing strict accountability standards.

"Sometimes the facts get lost in people’s preferred narratives," Morath responded.

For him, Houston ISD is an example of misallocated resources.

"Education is the great equalizer," he said. "We live in this country that was founded on ideals that speak to the highest ideals of man — all men are created equal, they were endowed with certain rights, the right to pursue happiness. And in many cases, our schools are the institutions that we said, ‘This is the thing that is going to deliver on those rights, it’s going to equip everybody for the American Dream.'

"We have got to make that true for kids," he continued. "Whether they’re in Wheatley, or in any other school in Houston or anywhere in the state."

The history of racial segregation and political disempowerment

Wheatley opened as a "Colored" school in 1927, after years of Black community members demanding better schooling facilities for their children. But the policymakers who gave into those demands had an ulterior motive: to create racially segregated residential patterns across the Houston area.

In her research, historian Karen Benjamin found that white schools and greater resources flowed to West Houston, while Black schools were placed in South and Northeast Houston, including Wheatley in Fifth Ward. All the while, schools in relatively integrated areas that didn't fit into the racial zoning plan were shuttered or denied adequate resources.

The plan worked, and the scars of segregation endure.

"It is really hard to dismantle that because residential segregation gets baked in," Benjamin said.

Schools were the primary tool of segregation, along with hospitals and other public services. Economic and industrial patterns followed, with business development flowing to the west and polluting plants opening in the east.

Houston was built on that foundation.

"The evidence is just so overwhelming," Benjamin said.

"Human beings are flawed creatures, and we have every sin imaginable that befalls us," Morath told Houston Public Media. "And it requires us to take intentional actions to learn from one another to love thy neighbor, to assume good intentions when we otherwise wouldn’t, and to listen from other people’s lived experiences. It’s been important for me as we had been engaged in this intervention in Houston for quite some time to learn and listen from people who grew up in that part of Houston, that lived those experiences, and it’s by learning constantly from those conversations, from the lived experience of others."

Houston ISD has tried to alleviate some of the disparities through "weighted-student" funding strategies that send additional dollars to schools with "student populations that need more educational resources including those classified as at-risk, economically disadvantaged, or bilingual, and those enrolled in special education, gifted and talented, and career and technology programs."

Opponents argue the takeover is more about power than student performance.

Democratic State Representative Ron Reynolds supported legislation that would stave off a takeover, although he acknowledged the bills were almost certainly doomed to die in the Republican-controlled legislature.

"I think this is less about education, more about a power grab," he said. "I think this is the TEA saying that ‘We don’t believe that these urban areas are ran effectively,' and that they can do a better job."

Political scientist Domingo Morel is the author of Takeover: Race, Education, and American Democracy, which examined more than 100 similar situations across the country.

The book's central argument: state takeovers of school districts rarely improve academic or financial situations, but often undercut the hard-won political power of marginalized groups in urban areas.

"People of color represent the majority in the state of Texas ... but at the state legislative level, they’re in the minority," he said. "And so the way to create political power across the state is through the cities — Houston, San Antonio, Dallas ... Because the schools are such an important part of the political power at the city level, when you take away the schools, you take away the power to the city as well. And then you start to really curtail that community’s power — not only at the city level, but then eventually at the state level."

Morath said the takeover is not about power.

"This is solely about students," said. "What must be true for kids in Houston — all kids in Houston, not just some kids in Houston — is they have got to be provided the resource environment that supports the structures that allow them to flourish, that allow them to succeed."

Reaction from district leadership

Superintendent Millard House II issued a statement highlighting the district-wide improvement.

“Because of the hard work of our students, teachers, and staff, we have lifted 40 of 50 schools off the D or F TEA accountability ratings list,” he wrote. “Together, with our parents, community members and leaders, we developed the district’s first comprehensive five-year strategic plan to build a better HISD.

“Today's announcement does not discount the gains we have made district-wide. I am confident our educators and staff will continue to do the necessary work to ensure positive student outcomes at every level,” House continued. “As we wrap up this school year, my focus will be on working with our Board of Trustees and the TEA to ensure a smooth transition without disruption to our core mission of providing an exceptional educational experience for all students.”

Kendall Baker with HISD said he think the takeover is “a great thing.”

“Considering what all I know, there has been years of misconduct, years of abuse of power, years of allegations and federal indictments,” Baker said. “And who suffered? The children have been suffering.”

Bridget Wade with HISD said she also supports Morath.

“I feel like I have to, because if they can make what’s good for kids then I have to support that,” she said. “We don’t have another way around it.”

She said there are current issues in the proposed budget that makes her concerned.

“I think there are some issues that I currently see in the proposed budget that unless I get good answers on, it may be worth us waiting for the board of managers to reckon with that,” she said.

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by pyrohornIII

[nbmishoid 949]

Well, I suppose the court cases will have to deal with whether, even under these new laws, they had real reasons to do this.  Help, lawdogs.  
 

Also, my youngest grandkid will be entering HISD.   I don’t want her groomed.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,512]

HISD has problems so I welcome anyone that can help my tax dollars be more effective here. But I’m skeptical whether the Abbott political appointees that will serve as the HISD school board for 2-6 years won’t be anything but a rubber stamp for Abbott to dictate how an ISD should run, especially in a blue county.

 

[Beau Vine 54,231]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

But I’m skeptical whether the Abbott political appointees that will serve as the HISD school board for 2-6 years won’t be anything but a rubber stamp for Abbott to dictate how an ISD should run, especially in a blue county.

I am not skeptical about that at all.

[Beau Vine 54,231]

On 3/6/2023 at 4:35 PM, tx 3 putt said:

losing accreditation = the school is toast 

Eh, there's a never-ending source of accrediting agencies willing to give you accreditation in exchange for money.  

If they lose accreditation, they just drop down to the next one on the list.

 

BTW, this made me do a spit-take:

Quote

 Madeleine Morgan, a second-year English and chemistry double major from California. Morgan said she had come to Idaho from California hoping for more political diversity.

 

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

HISD has problems so I welcome anyone that can help my tax dollars be more effective here. But I’m skeptical whether the Abbott political appointees that will serve as the HISD school board for 2-6 years won’t be anything but a rubber stamp for Abbott to dictate how an ISD should run, especially in a blue county.

 

they’re basing a lot off one school, which has improved 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,512]

As far as HISD take over, I haven’t seen clear guidelines on the criteria to turn the school board back over to the voters. Hopefully it’s not the governor deciding the timeframe.

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Hopefully it’s not the governor deciding the timeframe.

[4th&Five 41,557]

He’ll definitely slow roll it. 

[Dahobbs 17,543]

My son started in HISD this year. We love the school. He is in a bilingual problem where 80-90% of his instruction is in Spanish (despite our household not speaking Spanish). I'm concerned that the state government is going to fuck it up and ruin a diverse and interesting education environment. And I worry that science and critical thinking will be replaced with whatever the conservative thinking du jour is.  

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

4 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

He is in a bilingual problem where 80-90% of his instruction is in Spanish (despite our household not speaking Spanish).

That sounds like a problem. 

[South Austin 52,515]

A problem in two languages.

[Dahobbs 17,543]

1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

That sounds like a problem. 

We chose it. It is working really well. He is getting way more comfortable in Spanish. Eventually, they transition to 50-50 by 3rd grade. He should be completely bilingual then, which is something I want for him. The type of Spanish lessons I did as a kid (45 minutes once every couple days or so) was a complete waste. Wife and I are trying to learn more as well. 

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

Whoosh

[atomheartbevo 89,675]

2 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

We chose it. It is working really well. He is getting way more comfortable in Spanish. Eventually, they transition to 50-50 by 3rd grade. He should be completely bilingual then, which is something I want for him. The type of Spanish lessons I did as a kid (45 minutes once every couple days or so) was a complete waste. Wife and I are trying to learn more as well. 

You should be trying to learn Russian, so that you can converse with your next wife when you place your order on RussianWarWidows.com

[Dahobbs 17,543]

17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

You should be trying to learn Russian, so that you can converse with your next wife when you place your order on RussianWarWidows.com

I already got that covered. 

4 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

That sounds like a problem. 

I just realized the typo in my post. Well played. 

[Beau Vine 54,231]

Okie Sec of Ed:

 

[atomheartbevo 89,675]

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

 

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

Fight the power. ….

 

[tx 3 putt 76,975]

[BevoAbyss 2,059]

On 3/5/2023 at 10:47 AM, pyrohornIII said:

I think that the Bible thing is a cover and copout. 

Really? A cover and copout? 

Go tell that to the Native/Indigenous Peoples on three continents — South, Central, and North America — who were conquered and colonized in the name of God and the Holy Bible. Same principles with the Inquisition. Religious history is clear. It's the three Cs: Conquest, Colonization, and Conversion (of those few still alive). Any so-called religious/Christian charity comes after the bloodbath. Not before. 

[Bullneck 19,100]

On 3/15/2023 at 6:49 PM, Dahobbs said:

My son started in HISD this year. We love the school. He is in a bilingual problem where 80-90% of his instruction is in Spanish (despite our household not speaking Spanish). I'm concerned that the state government is going to fuck it up and ruin a diverse and interesting education environment. And I worry that science and critical thinking will be replaced with whatever the conservative thinking du jour is.  

I think Abbott just wants to review the curriculum: 

8:00   History 101: Culture of MS13

9:00   Math 101: Converting Metric to Imperial Measurements Using Pre-bagged Samples

10:00 Health: First Aid for Drug Overdose and Gunshot Victims

11:00 Auto Shop: How to Install "Swangers" and Pnuematic Lifts

12:00  School Lunch - Tacos, Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Rice

2:00.   Engineering Lab - How to Build Shallow Water Crossing

[Dahobbs 17,543]

10 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

I think Abbott just wants to review the curriculum: 

8:00   History 101: Culture of MS13

9:00   Math 101: Converting Metric to Imperial Measurements Using Pre-bagged Samples

10:00 Health: First Aid for Drug Overdose and Gunshot Victims

11:00 Auto Shop: How to Install "Swangers" and Pnuematic Lifts

12:00  School Lunch - Tacos, Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Rice

2:00.   Engineering Lab - How to Build Shallow Water Crossing

This would be a very impressive kindergarten curriculum. 

[pyrohornIII 4,815]

6 hours ago, BevoAbyss said:

Really? A cover and copout? 

Go tell that to the Native/Indigenous Peoples on three continents — South, Central, and North America — who were conquered and colonized in the name of God and the Holy Bible. Same principles with the Inquisition. Religious history is clear. It's the three Cs: Conquest, Colonization, and Conversion (of those few still alive). Any so-called religious/Christian charity comes after the bloodbath. Not before. 

We're saying the same thing.  Religion has been used as a cover for centuries to justify taking what someone else already has.  The tactics have changed, but the mission remains the same.  The extended luxury of one group at the expense of other groups.   Then the struggle to hold onto that advantage.   

Edited March 18, 2023 by pyrohornIII

[speed817 19,282]

On 3/15/2023 at 10:57 PM, Beau Vine said:

Okie Sec of Ed:

 

WTF is this graphic supposed to endorse???