Morath Meets

Rick Noriega is a good friend of mine. I won’t be talking about the latest. Sorry.

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Brad Wray is a teacher and a District Advisory Committee Member with HISD. I have known Brad for years now. He sent this out this morning:

Yesterday, DAC representatives were invited to a Q&A with TEA Commissioner Mike Morath regarding the takeover of HISD. Below are answers to some of the questions that were asked. These are not direct quotes from Commissioner Morath, but I tried to capture the main point of what he was saying. 

• If the District has brought our district grade up to a B+ (Wheatley HS is up to a C), then why are you all here?  
• Answer: The law (HB 1842) says Morath shall either close a school or appoint a board of managers. Improved scores are irrelevant. 

• What is the process for choosing a superintendent? 
• Answer: Morath makes the decision. He can’t confirm or deny that it will be Mike Miles. (Houston Chronicle: Who is Mike Miles?) 

• Any planned changes to pay scale? Will teachers get a pay increase due to inflation?  
• Answer: Doesn’t expect any this coming year. Believes that teachers should make six figures. How resources are used is up to the Board of Managers. 

• Will anyone who has been in the district be consulted with decisions you all are going to make? (You all are not from this area, so how will you be able to make the right decisions for a district of children and staff you know nothing about.)  
• Answer: The Board will be made up of people who live in the district. Morath will strive to have a geographically representative Board of Managers. Existing “gerrymandered” district boundaries will not necessarily be adhered to. 

• Do you plan to close schools?  
• Answer: I have not closed any schools. It’s up to the Board. 

• How will you address inequities?  
• Answer: This is up to the Board. 

• How will you alleviate uneasiness that we have about the takeover?  
• Answer: Communicating what is happening. This won’t be any more extreme than what happens when a superintendent change happens. 

• Will retention stipends be affected?  
• Answer: I don’t foresee this changing, but this is up to the Board. 

• Can you assure us that our schools will not be turned into charter schools?  
• Answer: I could have chartered schools after year 5 but I have not. It’s up to the Board how schools are managed. 

• How do you plan to manage the budget deficit? 
• Answer: How resources are used is up to the Board. 

“It’s not the people in this room that are the problems, it’s the district leadership.” 

-Mike Morath 

Thanks for the info, Brad.

Now let’s get a Board of Managers appointed.

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Some good news for Florida democrats. They need good news. A victory over the GOP yesterday. See this from Politico:

Headlines:

Dems beat DeSantis-endorsed candidate in Florida’s biggest city

Donna Deegan will replace term-limited Republican Lenny Curry.

Here is the story:

Democrat Donna Deegan, a former television anchor and founder of a charity group that works with breast cancer victims, on Tuesday upset Republican Daniel Davis to win the mayor’s race in Jacksonville.

Deegan becomes the first female mayor in Jacksonville history, having defeated a candidate who outspent her significantly. Her opponent had the backing of the Republican Party of Florida and the endorsement of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Everybody said it could not be done in Jacksonville,” said Deegan, who said the campaign and its volunteers had worked for a year and a half ahead of the election. Deegan drew 52 percent of the vote.Davis — a former legislator and CEO of the local Chamber of Commerce — and his allies hit Deegan over her participation in Black Lives Matter protests, and the local sheriff said she would install “radical policies” if elected. Deegan pushed back by calling the attacks smears and billed herself as a candidate who would change a city government that had been dominated by Republicans. Deegan was also able to score some Republican endorsements ahead of Election Day.

Deegan’s victory gives Florida Democrats a psychological boost just months after the November 2022 elections in which DeSantis won his re-election victory by nearly 20 points, and Republicans crushed Democrats across the state. Democrats all over Florida erupted with glee on social media over Deegan’s win.

Nikki Fried, the former Agriculture commissioner who took over the helm of the party earlier this year, made the Jacksonville race a top priority.

Jacksonville’s current mayor — Lenny Curry, a Republican — could not run again due to term limits.

Very nice.

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We won again last night.