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First TEA meeting regarding board of managers for Houston ISD takeover gets very heated
FOX 26 Reporter Sherman Desselle was there as the meeting, which turned upside down, was marred by shouting, anger, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee briefly hijacked the meeting on Tuesday night.
Houston - It took 15 minutes for some parents of Houston Independent School District students to give their take on the planned takeover by the Texas Education Agency at the first public meeting Tuesday evening.
"We got questions!" says one parent. "We want to know about our students, our people, our community."
Despite the interruptions, TEA Deputy Commissioner Alejandro Delgado continued through his PowerPoint presentation, describing how the Board of Managers process will work. This appointed group of residents will replace the current Board of Trustees. He stated 138 applications for the Board of Managers have already been submitted through their website.
Delgado urged the crowd that this takeover was only temporary, and the students weren't at fault for the move.
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FULL VIDEO: TEA hosts first meeting regarding board of managers process for Houston ISD
The Texas Education Agency will hosted first of a series of community meetings to provide information regarding the board of managers process. But the meeting was marred by shouting from community members and was briefly hijacked by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
"This is not about the students, the teachers, not about the principal," said Delgado. "This is about the school board, and this is about a subset of schools and kids that have been chronically underperforming for years."
"You're stepping on our vote," one woman replied. "Lie after lie after lie! This is about the kids."
"If it was about the school board, you should've done it three years ago," said longtime HISD teacher Larry McKenzie.
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TEA Commissioner Mike Morath confirms state takeover of Houston ISD
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath talks with FOX 26 about the TEA announcement.
Delgado stated once the TEA criteria for the overall performance of the district are met, the district will return to elected trustee control. The process could take up to two years. Delgado insists the district will not be run from TEA headquarters in Austin.
U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee arrived at the meeting after it got underway and partially hijacked the meeting. She shared her opposition to the TEA takeover as attendees applauded her thoughts.
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State Rep. Ron Reynolds speaks with Isiah Carey on TEA officially taking over Houston ISD
State Representative Ron Reynolds speaks with FOX 26's Isiah Carey following the official announcement from the Texas Education Agency that they will be taking over Houston Independent School District.
"I think that the TEA and the Governor should take into consideration the challenges that we overcame through the pandemic," said Lee. "We strongly oppose this approach."
The next public meeting is set for Wednesday, Mar. 22 at Chavez High School. FOX 26 Houston will be at the meeting and will have the meeting live-streamed on FOX26Houston.com and the FOX 26 Houston YouTube page.