Houston ISD layoffs impact 150 workers, union president says
HOUSTON - At least 150 Houston ISD workers were notified of layoffs on Friday, a union president confirms.
According to Hector Mireles, president of the Texas Support Personnel Employees Local 1, those impacted were from the maintenance department and skilled workers like window crews and filter crews. Mireles says five custodial supervisors were also notified that they would be let go.
In a statement, Houston ISD says many central office departments are seeing a reduction in force due to next year's budget, and impacted employees will be notified that their positions have either been eliminated or changed in the coming weeks.
The district says those impacted will continue in their current position until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2024, and will receive assistance in pursuing open positions in other departments if they wish to stay with the district.
Mireles told FOX 26 that those impacted by the job cuts were given until June 23 to reapply.
Read Houston ISD's full statement below:
"Like most school districts in Texas and across the country, HISD is being forced to make some very tough budget decisions for next school year. State funding for education has not increased, and the time-limited emergency aid provided by the federal government to help districts respond to the pandemic is no longer available. This means that—in order to meet our students’ needs—HISD must right size our central office and find ways to operate more efficiently.
Superintendent Miles has said the District will keep cuts as far away from students and classrooms as possible, and will continue to invest in our teachers and leaders. Given the need to ensure our limited resources support the delivery of excellent instruction at every campus, many central office departments are seeing a reduction in force—and that process has been ongoing since January.
In the weeks to come, all impacted employees will be notified that their positions have either been eliminated or changed. HISD will support impacted employees who wish to remain at the District in pursuing open positions in other departments.
Each HISD department chief engaged in a rigorous process to identify positions and programs previously funded by one-time federal Covid money that can no longer be paid for by the District. In some cases, positions/programs can be funded at the campus level if principals so choose. In other cases, services currently funded with the one-time money will need to be delivered in new ways.
For the good of our students and community, HISD must structure its operations to avoid the fiscal cliff predicted by previous administrations, and we must ensure the District is financially stable going forward. In order to do so, HISD will have to address the challenges created by funding so many recurring costs with limited, one-time federal money. The central office staffing decisions being made now are driven by our responsibility to prioritize resources for kids and classrooms and support the long-term fiscal health of our District.
Employees whose positions are eliminated or changed will continue in their current position until the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2024."