Appointed school board managers in some Texas districts under state takeover said Friday that they are preparing to leave their posts as soon as January. Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned to stop state takeovers in public schools and to replace Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath with an educator on her first day in office, Jan. 19.
The new commissioner could immediately change the governance of the eight districts taken over by the state because their campuses persistently failed academic standards, according to the report. During a takeover, a commissioner appoints managers who take on the authority of locally elected trustees. Education experts said Hinojosa's appointee could replace any or all of those managers at any time. Hinojosa has not said if or when a new commissioner would make such changes.
Presidents of the Houston and Fort Worth ISD boards of managers said they are making plans now, including talks with elected trustees about how power would transfer. Ric Campo, president of the Houston ISD board of managers, said some managers plan to meet with elected trustees Monday to lay out a "robust" plan. He said he assumes trustees must be ready by January. "What we really want to make sure happens is that we have a great, smooth transition," Campo told the Tribune.