On Thursday, June 10, the Houston ISD Board of Education met for its monthly business meeting. The Board focused most of its time on discussing the 2021-2022 district operating budget, which must be passed annually by the end of June. For the second year in a row, the Board was able to pass the budget on time at the regular board meeting, rather than pushing the vote to the end of the month. The Board did not manage to avoid last-minute amendments but was able to provide a modest raise of $2,500 to teachers in addition to step increases. The Board chose to leave the issue of making raises sustainable for the new Superintendent. For our full remarks on the Board’s budget process and our hopes for next year, visit our latest blog post. The Board’s commitment to increasing time spent monitoring student outcomes remained stagnant, with only 14% of the meeting focused on student outcomes.
Overall Ratings
June 10, 2021
Trustee scores were based on votes and discussion related to agenda items A.2 and A.3 and assessed using core values for Leadership, Stewardship, and Impact.
District I: Trustee Santos
Medium
District II: Kathy Blueford-Daniels
Medium
District III: Dani Hernandez
Medium
District IV: Patricia Allen
Medium
District V: Sue Deigaard
Medium
District VI: Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca Ocampo
Medium
District VII: Anne Sung
Medium
District VIII: Judith Cruz
Medium
District IX: Myrna Guidry
Medium
Key Votes
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
Trustee Santos
For
For
Trustee Blueford-Daniels
For
For
Trustee Hernandez
For
For
Trustee Allen
For
For
Trustee Allen
For
For
Trustee Deigaard
For
For
Trustee Flynn Vilaseca Ocampo
For
For
Trustee Sung
For
For
Trustee Cruz
For
For
Trustee Guidry
For
For
Key Votes
Trustee Santos
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Blueford-Daniels
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Hernandez
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Allen
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Deigaard
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Flynn Vilaseca Ocampo
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Sung
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Cruz
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Trustee Guidry
A.2: Goal 1 and 2 Progress Monitoring
For
A.3: 2021-2022 District Opperating Budget
For
Time Spent on Student Outcomes
Research shows that school boards that focus on student outcomes have a greater impact. The Texas Education Agency recommends spending at least 50% of Board meeting time on student outcomes.
33 Minutes
33 Minutes: 14%
Trustee Comments
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- While the Board did manage to pass the budget on time and secure modest raises for teachers, it did so through last-minute amendments and by leaving the issue of making raises sustainable for the new Superintendent. We applaud the board for taking the first step of making teacher salaries more competitive in the region, but there is still a long way to go. The Board must be able to agree on budget priorities and work with administration, potentially making tough decisions, to rework the budget to focus funding on students and the staff that support them the most. To see our full comments on the budget process, please visit our latest blog post.
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Served Since: 2018
- Trustee Santos asked how the summer curriculum aligned to board goals and what incentives the district was offering for summer school teachers.
- Trustee Santos moved to increase teacher compensation by $5,000 with the funding for the increase coming from the district fund balance, which is not a sustainable source for recurring expenses. The amendment was later modified to address that issue and to ensure the district had the funds to keep at least three months of operating expenses for emergencies, as recommended by the state.
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Served Since: 2020
- Trustee Blueford-Daniels expressed concern about changing the budget so late in the planning process and wanted to ensure any changes were sustainable. She was specifically concerned that increased expenditures could lead to future funding cuts and school consolidations in District II due to low enrollment.
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Served Since: 2020
- Trustee Hernandez asked about student performance growth, specifically related to special education students, along with a comparison of in-person and remote testers.
- Trustee Hernandez supported a hybrid amendment to the budget that would set out instructions for sustainability but also have a specific monetary commitment to raise teacher salaries.
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Served Since: 2020
- Trustee Allen expressed concern about the sustainability of teacher raises and how last-minute changes would impact the budgets that principals have already set for next year.
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Served Since: 2018
- Trustee Deigaard asked the administration which strategies they are using to support student performance are successful and which are not yielding expected results. She also asked about how ESSR funding would be used to address learning loss from the pandemic and if the district would be on target to meet annual Board goals.
- Trustee Deigaard wanted to make sure that additional spending would not come out of the PUA, which is money allocated for student learning. She expressed discomfort with making changes without a plan for sustainability, but ultimately wanted the district to prioritize compensation for employees closest to students, if the new Superintendent could be directed to create a plan for the additional spending.
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Served Since: 2017
- Trustee Flynn Vilaseca Ocampo asked for the administration to provide disaggregated data by student groups for future presentations.
- Trustee Flynn Vilaseca Ocampo pointed out the teacher vacancies the district was expecting for next year and supported finding a comfortable solution for the Board to raise teacher compensation.
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Served Since: 2017
- Trustee Sung asked about data quality concerns with the Board goals due to the pandemic and if testing data was still useful at the campus level. She also asked about summer school and how the administration identified students to invite to participate.
- Truste Sung, using input from the rest of the Board, moved to increase teacher compensation by $2,500 and instruct the administration to bring back a budget amendment in August that included a multi-year plan for sustainability under the new Superintendent.
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Served Since: 2020
- Trustee Cruz asked how the district was evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies used to support student performance on Board goals and which strategies were seeing some success.
- Trustee Cruz supported increasing teacher compensation, but wanted to make sure the district retained at least three months of operating expenses in case of an emergency. Her time focused on finding an avenue for offsetting the budget increase to ensure teachers were not facing layoffs from unsustainable budget expenses.
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Served Since: 2020
- Trustee Guidry asked about summer school options for students and if remote learning would be offered.
- Trustee Guidry expressed concern about changing the budget so late in the planning process and wanted to ensure any changes were sustainable. She supported increasing teacher compensation, but wanted specific and viable solutions from her colleagues before making changes to the proposed budget.