HOUSTON — The Houston Independent School District is struggling with a broken system with a multitude of "long-standing operational problems and inefficiencies," according to a report released Tuesday.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles released details of the 32-page report and outlined a plan to address the following issues.
- Wasteful spending "on a grand scale" even as student enrollment declines
- Extreme overtime abuse
- Outboarding contracts for work that could have been done by HISD employees
- Broken human resources system
- Broken transportation system
- Complicated curricula and programs not linked to any standards of quality
- "Bureaucracy that creates obstacles and is divorced from progress and student outcomes"
Miles said some of the issues are common in urban districts, but he was surprised at the level of problems uncovered by the HISD report.
The superintendent of the state's largest district said HISD spent $26 million on overtime last year, money that could have been used to raise teacher salaries. Miles said most of the OT involved hourly employees in the central office and he wants the district to do a better job of monitoring it and holding employees accountable.
As another example, Miles said the district bought 175 new buses in 2023, which cost about $20 million.
"How was that processed? What was the system to look at the buses you need, what you don't need, why you would purchase it, what was the mileage and usage already, why did that escape notice," he asked.
The superintendent said employees aren't to blame for the laundry list of problems.
"I always say, 'When big things go wrong, first look at the system,' because that's how people operate," Miles said.
He said district leaders will work together to create a more efficient system overall so that they can better support teachers and schools.
"So, it's not just about saving money, it's about making sure we get our kids to school on time, making sure we do fix the toilet when it breaks on time, making sure our buildings, as old as they are, are as cool as they can be in the summer and as warm as they can be in the winter," Miles said.
The superintendent said building a "high-performing culture" in classrooms begins with improving the way the district operates as a whole.
Miles has already ushered in numerous changes in HISD, including switching low-performing schools to the controversial New Education System or NES.
An education non-profit that works closely with HISD and other districts say the report is a good sign of transparency.
"I think this is part of really building trust with the public," Good Reason Houston CEO Cary Wright said. "It is to be what we like to think of as compassionately honest, be clear about what are the challenges right now that are going to prevent the district from serving all students well every day."