Houston Independent School District, Texas
| Houston Independent School District |
|---|
 |
| Houston, Texas |
| District details |
| Superintendent: Mike Miles |
| # of school board members: 9 |
| Website: Link |
The Houston Independent School District is a school district in Texas.
Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...
- Superintendent
- School board
- Elections
- Budget
- Teacher salaries
- Academic performance
- Students
- Noteworthy events
- Staff
- Schools
- Contact information
Superintendent
 |
This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates. |
Mike Miles is the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. He was appointed by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on June 1, 2023.[1] The district's board of education confirmed the appointment on June 8, 2023.[2] Prior to his appointment, Miles served as the CEO to the charter school network Third Future School, as well as the superintendent of Dallas Independent School District.[3]
Past superintendents
- Grenita Lathan was the interim superintendent of the Houston Independent School District from 2018 to 2021. Lathan's previous career experience included working as a teacher, the chief elementary school improvement officer of the San Diego Unified School District, and the superintendent of Peoria Public Schools in Illinois.[4]
- Richard Carranza was the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District from 2016 to 2018.[5][6] Carranza's previous career experience included working as the superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District.[7]
- Kenneth Huewitt was the interim superintendent of the Houston Independent School District in 2016. Huewitt's previous career experience included working as the district's controller and chief financial officer.[8]
- Terry Grier was the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District from 2009 to 2016.[9]
School board
The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees consists of nine members elected to four-year terms and nine appointed members. [10]
Elected board
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Independent School District, District I | Elizabeth Santos | 2017 |
| Houston Independent School District, District II | Savant Moore | January 11, 2024 |
| Houston Independent School District, District III | Daniela Hernandez | January 16, 2020 |
| Houston Independent School District, District IV | Patricia Allen | January 16, 2020 |
| Houston Independent School District, District IX | Myrna Guidry | December 10, 2020 |
| Houston Independent School District, District V | Sue Deigaard | January 11, 2018 |
| Houston Independent School District, District VI | Kendall Baker | January 11, 2022 |
| Houston Independent School District, District VII | Bridget Wade | January 11, 2022 |
| Houston Independent School District, District VIII | Placido Gomez | January 11, 2024 |
Appointed board
Elections
Members of the board are elected biennially in November to overlapping four-year terms.[10]
Five seats on the board are up for general election on November 4, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was August 18, 2025.
Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.
Join the conversation about school board politics
Public participation in board meetings
The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[11]
District map
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[12]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $683,805,000 | $3,514 | 23% |
| Local: | $2,024,644,000 | $10,404 | 69% |
| State: | $234,725,000 | $1,206 | 8% |
| Total: | $2,943,174,000 | $15,124 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $2,824,805,000 | $14,515 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $2,341,246,000 | $12,030 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $1,269,429,000 | $6,523 | 45% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $286,567,000 | $1,472 | 10% |
| Administration: | $368,123,000 | $1,891 | 13% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $417,127,000 | $2,143 | 15% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $153,313,000 | $787 | |
| Construction: | $64,951,000 | $333 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $17,676,000 | $90 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $121,949,000 | $626 |
Teacher salaries
The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.
| Year | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025[13] | $64,000 | $108,644 |
| 2023-2024[14] | $53,000 | $100,000 |
| 2020[15] | $54,369 | $96,371 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[16]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 27 | 72 | 16 | 22 | 35-39 | 45-49 | 59 |
| 2018-2019 | 45 | 80 | 33 | 44 | 35-39 | 66 | 67 |
| 2017-2018 | 43 | 80 | 31 | 42 | 40-44 | 63 | 66 |
| 2016-2017 | 71 | 91 | 63 | 72 | 70-74 | 84 | 87 |
| 2015-2016 | 69 | 90 | 59 | 70 | 60-64 | 83 | 86 |
| 2014-2015 | 67 | 88 | 57 | 68 | 70-74 | 82 | 86 |
| 2013-2014 | 70 | 89 | 60 | 71 | 65-69 | 83 | 87 |
| 2012-2013 | 72 | 90 | 63 | 73 | 75-79 | 83 | 87 |
| 2011-2012 | 80 | 94 | 72 | 82 | 75-79 | 89 | 91 |
| 2010-2011 | 83 | 92 | 77 | 84 | 80-84 | 92 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 35 | 71 | 28 | 30 | 40-44 | 40-44 | 70 |
| 2018-2019 | 41 | 75 | 33 | 37 | 35-39 | 70 | 71 |
| 2017-2018 | 39 | 74 | 30 | 36 | 45-49 | 67 | 71 |
| 2016-2017 | 63 | 84 | 57 | 62 | 60-64 | 83 | 87 |
| 2015-2016 | 64 | 84 | 58 | 62 | 65-69 | 85 | 86 |
| 2014-2015 | 65 | 83 | 59 | 64 | 60-64 | 85 | 87 |
| 2013-2014 | 67 | 84 | 61 | 66 | 65-69 | 86 | 88 |
| 2012-2013 | 72 | 85 | 69 | 70 | 70-74 | 88 | 90 |
| 2011-2012 | 85 | 92 | 82 | 84 | 85-89 | 94 | 95 |
| 2010-2011 | 86 | 94 | 84 | 85 | 85-89 | 95 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 79 | 91 | 79 | 78 | 70-79 | 75-79 | 79 |
| 2017-2018 | 79 | 93 | 78 | 79 | 60-69 | 80-84 | 77 |
| 2016-2017 | 79 | 90 | 78 | 79 | 60-69 | 75-79 | 78 |
| 2015-2016 | 78 | 92 | 76 | 78 | 70-79 | 75-79 | 80 |
| 2014-2015 | 79 | 92 | 77 | 79 | 60-79 | 75-79 | 83 |
| 2013-2014 | 79 | 92 | 75 | 78 | 70-79 | 85-89 | 86 |
| 2012-2013 | 79 | 87 | 76 | 77 | 70-79 | 90-94 | 91 |
| 2011-2012 | 79 | 92 | 77 | 77 | 70-79 | 90-94 | 89 |
| 2010-2011 | 79 | 92 | 77 | 76 | 60-79 | >=90 | 90 |
Students
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 184,109 | -3.2 |
| 2022-2023 | 189,934 | -2.5 |
| 2021-2022 | 194,607 | -1.2 |
| 2020-2021 | 196,943 | -6.7 |
| 2019-2020 | 210,061 | 0.1 |
| 2018-2019 | 209,772 | -2.1 |
| 2017-2018 | 214,175 | -0.9 |
| 2016-2017 | 216,106 | 0.2 |
| 2015-2016 | 215,627 | 0.2 |
| 2014-2015 | 215,225 | 1.7 |
| 2013-2014 | 211,552 | 3.9 |
| 2012-2013 | 203,354 | 0.1 |
| 2011-2012 | 203,066 | -0.6 |
| 2010-2011 | 204,245 | 0.7 |
| 2009-2010 | 202,773 | 1.3 |
| 2008-2009 | 200,225 | 0.3 |
| 2007-2008 | 199,534 | -1.7 |
| 2006-2007 | 202,936 | -3.6 |
| 2005-2006 | 210,292 | 0.6 |
| 2004-2005 | 208,945 | -1.2 |
| 2003-2004 | 211,499 | -0.3 |
| 2002-2003 | 212,099 | 0.5 |
| 2001-2002 | 210,950 | 1.2 |
| 2000-2001 | 208,462 | -0.6 |
| 1999-2000 | 209,716 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Houston Independent School District (%) | Texas K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 5.0 | 5.4 |
| Black | 21.3 | 12.8 |
| Hispanic | 61.7 | 53.2 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 1.8 | 3.1 |
| White | 9.9 | 25.0 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Staff
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Houston Independent School District had 11,785.74 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.62.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 642.24 |
| Kindergarten: | 605.96 |
| Elementary: | 4,777.21 |
| Secondary: | 4,514.58 |
| Total: | 11,785.74 |
Houston Independent School District employed 24.02 district administrators and 1,296.66 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 24.02 |
| District Administrative Support: | 2,319.43 |
| School Administrators: | 1,296.66 |
| School Administrative Support: | 1,226.91 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 1,320.95 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 14.00 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 354.14 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 103.21 |
| Library/Media Support: | 0.00 |
| Student Support Services: | 1,674.34 |
| Other Support Services: | 5,945.80 |
Schools
Noteworthy events
2023: State takeover of school board
On March 15, 2023, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced in a letter he was appointing a Board of Managers to replace the HISD elected Board of Trustees.[17] The appointed school board members took office in June 2024 and held their first public meeting on June 8, 2024.[18]
The letter followed the Texas Supreme Court's Jan. 13, 2023, ruling ending an injunction against the takeover that had begun in 2020.[19]
Morath said the new Board of Managers and superintendent would not take over before June 1. The elected Board of Trustees will serve in an advisory capacity, and elections will still take place. The appointed board will serve for two years. At that time, Morath will need to announce a timeline for returning control back to the Board of Trustees or extend the state takeover for an additional two years.[17]
2019-2022: Potential state takeover of school board
On November 6, 2019, the day after the district's general election for four out of nine seats on the school board, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath notified the district of his decision to appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board, appoint a superintendent for the district, and lower the district's accreditation status to "accredited-warned."[20][21] Under a state-appointed board, elected board members would function as non-voting representatives until they were phased back in by the commissioner.[22][23]
Morath's decision came after a TEA investigation into the board's governance and repeatedly poor academic performance ratings at a high school in the district.[24] According to the Houston Chronicle, the transition was originally expected to take place around March 2020.[25]
As part of an ongoing lawsuit disputing the investigation and takeover, HISD filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent state intervention on October 29.[26] Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied the injunction on December 18 and remanded the case to a Travis County court.[27][28] On January 8, 2020, Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy issued a temporary injunction preventing the TEA from taking over the district until the lawsuit was resolved. Mauzy scheduled the trial for June 22.[29][30] TEA officials filed an appeal with the Texas Third District Court of Appeals on January 9, 2020.[31] The court upheld the injunction on December 30, 2020, returning the issue to the Travis County district court. The Texas Education Association said it would appeal the ruling before the state supreme court.[32] The state supreme court upheld the appellate court's decision on March 19, 2021.[33]
After Morath's announcement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) stated, "The State of Texas will never give up on our students, nor will we allow Houston ISD's school board to stand in the way of a child and their path to success. I fully support the Texas Education Agency's takeover of HISD and will work with them to give every child a chance at a great education."[34] Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO, said, "This is a power grab to disenfranchise families in Houston—particularly families of color—who just exercised their voice in a democratic vote on control of the city's public schools. Now, the state government wants to step in and ignore that vote and exercise state control over this community because of one below-grade school, when the rest of them are scoring in the top tier in math and reading."[35]
Texas Education Agency investigation
The TEA special accreditation investigation into HISD began in January 2019.[36] Special Investigations Unit Director Jason Hewitt recommended in August 2019 that the state appoint a board of managers for the district due to the elected board's "inability to appropriately govern, inability to operate within the scope of their authority, circumventing the authority of the superintendent, and inability to ensure proper contract procurement laws are followed."[37] Preliminary findings of the TEA investigation included violations such as secret meetings that broke state law, misuse of district property, and school board member overreach.[38]
HISD lawyers filed a complaint against the TEA in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas on August 16 which claimed that school board members' rights were violated and that allegations were not fully investigated.[39] The lawsuit also argued that a state-appointed board would violate the Civil Rights Act, since a majority of voters in the district were people of color.[40]
The TEA's final investigative report was released on October 30. The document included the district's response to the preliminary findings of the investigation, in which HISD lawyers wrote the following:
| “ |
The findings presented in TEA’s Report are fundamentally flawed because they resulted from an investigation that began with a predetermined result. This meant that instead of conducting a fair and unbiased investigation, TEA’s investigators searched for a problem to use as a pretext for replacing Houston ISD’s elected Board of Trustees with an unelected board of managers.[41] |
” |
| —Kevin O’Hanlon, Benjamin Castillo, and David Campbell, Special Counsel to Houston ISD[42] | ||
The TEA's recommendation to replace the board remained the same. Hewitt concluded the following in the report's cover letter to the district:
| “ |
Based on the findings and substantiation of Allegation One, Allegation Two, and Allegation Three, the SIU will recommend to the Commissioner of Education that the accreditation status of the district be lowered, a conservator be appointed, and a Board of Managers be installed in accordance with Tex. Educ. Code §39.057(d) to replace the existing board of trustees due to the HISD Board of Trustees’ demonstrated inability to appropriately govern, inability to operate within the scope of their authority by circumventing the authority of the superintendent, and inability to ensure proper contract procurement laws are followed.[41] |
” |
| —Jason Hewitt, Special Investigations Unit, TEA[43] | ||
Academic performance
According to preliminary ratings for the 2018-2019 school year, one HISD high school, Wheatley, received a failing grade for the seventh year in a row.[44][45] At the time, the district was under oversight from a conservator appointed by the TEA due to poor academic performance at various schools.[46][37] Texas House Bill 1842 required that the commissioner of education either close a school that received more than five consecutive failing grades or replace the district's board of education.[47] HISD received a waiver from state ratings for the 2017-2018 school year due to Hurricane Harvey.[44]
In a meeting on September 5, 2019, HISD board members voted 7-1 to instruct the interim superintendent, Grenita Lathan, to appeal the failing grade, with Jolanda Jones voting against the appeal and Rhonda Skillern-Jones not present. Carla Stevens, the district's assistant superintendent of research and accountability, stated, "We have tried really, really hard to find anything we can hang out [sic] hat on at Wheatley, and we cannot find anything that would be an allowable appeal that would be granted."[47] Lathan submitted the district's appeal on September 13.[48] Morath denied the appeal on November 5.[49]
Contact information
Houston Independent School District
4400 West 18th St.
Houston, TX 77092-8501
Phone: 713-556-6000
About school boards
Education legislation in Texas
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| Texas | School Board Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Houston Independent School District
- Texas Education Agency
- Texas Association of School Boards
Footnotes
- ↑ Houston Landing, "Texas takeover of Houston ISD complete as Mike Miles named superintendent, board replaced," June 1, 2023
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "Jun 08, 2023 Special Board Meetings," June 8, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Mike Miles," accessed July 10, 2023
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "Superintendent / Homepage," accessed March 26, 2021
- ↑ HISD News Blog, "HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza accepts new role in NYC," March 5, 2018
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Houston ISD superintendent Richard Carranza leaving for NYC’s top job after 18 months here," March 5, 2018
- ↑ HISD News Blog, "Richard A. Carranza named HISD superintendent," August 18, 2016
- ↑ HISD News Blog, "HISD Board of Education names Deputy Superintendent/CFO Ken Huewitt as interim leader of state’s largest district," February 17, 2016
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Grier trailed by both acrimony and accolades," August 29, 2009
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Houston Independent School District, "Board Members - Elections," accessed March 26, 2021
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "Board Meetings - Public Participation," accessed January 18, 2024
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "2024–2025 Salary Tables," accessed April 22, 2025
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD Compensation Tables," accessed February 4, 2024
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD Compensation Tables," accessed March 26, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, ""State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation,"" accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Texas Education Agency, "Appointment of Board of Managers," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Meet Houston ISD's new board of managers, appointed by the state during takeover," accessed June 19, 2024
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Texas Supreme Court clears way for state’s education agency to take over Houston ISD," January 13, 2023
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "State to take over Houston ISD by replacing school board and superintendent," November 6, 2019
- ↑ KHOU11, "State announces plans to take over HISD after investigation reveals 'serious or persistent deficiencies,'" November 6, 2019
- ↑ Community Impact, "Houston ISD ratings show progress, but school board could still be replaced," September 3, 2019
- ↑ Texas Education Agency, "TEA Governance Return to Elected Trustee Control," accessed November 22, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "TEA notifies Houston ISD of intent to replace district’s elected school board," November 6, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "TEA to host community meetings on Houston ISD board takeover," November 8, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "HISD lawyers seek injunction to block TEA takeover, allow superintendent search," October 30, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Federal judge dismisses HISD lawsuit aimed at stopping takeover," December 18, 2019
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Federal judge dismisses Houston ISD lawsuit seeking to avoid state takeover," December 19, 2019
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "State judge temporarily blocks Texas from taking over Houston school district," January 8, 2020
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Austin judge temporarily blocks state takeover of HISD school board," January 8, 2020
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "TEA appeals injunction blocking it from taking over Houston ISD board," January 9, 2020
- ↑ Click2Houston, "TEA still blocked from taking over HISD, appeals court rules," December 30, 2020
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "HISD board wins another legal battle in fight to stop state takeover," March 19, 2021
- ↑ ABC13, "HISD's takeover by Texas education brass official," November 7, 2019
- ↑ American Federation of Teachers, "Educators Question State Takeover of HISD," November 7, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "TEA official: State investigation into HISD could take months," April 6, 2019
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Houston Chronicle, "TEA investigative report cites misconduct, recommends replacement of HISD board," August 7, 2019
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "From Secret Meetings To Free Meals: 10 Reasons Why TEA Is Recommending A State Takeover Of HISD," August 19, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "HISD board fires back at TEA in lawsuit, calls investigation 'one-sided,'" August 19, 2019
- ↑ San Antonio Express-News, "Harlandale ISD lawyer sees voting rights as defense against TEA," September 13, 2019
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Houston Independent School District Special Accreditation Investigation, "Appendix 1: Houston ISD’s response to TEA’s preliminary report and request for informal review," October 30, 2019 (page 7)
- ↑ Texas Education Agency, "Dear President Davila and Interim Superintendent Lathan," October 30, 2019 (page 3)
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 The Texas Tribune, "Three Texas school districts face state penalties after getting failing grades. Look up your campus' A-F grade here," August 15, 2019
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "Texas Education Commissioner Puts Houston, Other Districts On Notice For Failing Grades," September 3, 2019
- ↑ AP, "State opens accreditation investigation of Houston ISD," January 23, 2019
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Houston Chronicle, "HISD board orders appeal of Wheatley's failing grade, bucking administration," September 5, 2019
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "Houston District Appeals School’s Failing Grade, Likely Delaying State Decision On Potential Takeover," September 13, 2019
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "State Denies HISD’s Appeal Of Wheatley’s ‘F’ Rating, Raising Chance Of State Takeover," November 5, 2019
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