HOUSTON — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Saturday that the Texas Education Agency has already decided who will be the next Houston ISD superintendent.
The agency denied that, saying no decision has been made and that there will be no announcements before June 1.
Mayor Turner made the claim on Twitter, saying former Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles will serve as the district's next head.
"This process is totally flawed," the mayor's tweet reads. "One person in Austin is deciding who will be the superintendent and managers."
Mayor Turner gave the following statement to KHOU 11:
“I am hearing from people in Houston and Dallas that Mike Miles is the person. I am also hearing he is planning to talk with principals the first week in June. The TEA Commissioner should confirm or deny. People within the district are making decisions based on what they are hearing. This process has been plagued by rumors from the beginning.
"I have not had any conversations with TEA since March.
"I view this entire process as flawed and anti-democratic. There has been very little transparency with parents, school personnel and/or media. The sole decision making is in Austin and the stakeholders in HISD are being disregarded. The state’s move to takeover the largest school district in Texas comes with very little local input, no additional resources and no benchmarks by which it, the state, can be assessed and held accountable.”
HISD Trustee Dr. Kendall Baker told KHOU 11's Zack Tawatari that the mayor's claims were just speculation.
“Neither the commissioner nor the Texas Education Agency has announced anyone – not the board of managers, nor who the new superintendent would be. All of that, speculation," Baker said.
This comes as the TEA is in the midst of taking over HISD and appointing a board of managers that will take over the duties of the elected board. The agency plans to appoint the new board and superintendent by June 1.
Who is Mike Miles
Mike Miles served as Dallas ISD's superintendent from 2012 until he resigned in June 2015.
According to a 2015 report from DISD, Miles resigned to spend more time with his family. They said he led the district through a "positive transition' during his time as superintendent.
Miles said at the time that no other district had accomplished as much as DISD in the same period of time.
However, a 2015 report from our sister station, WFAA, said Miles' tenure as superintendent at DISD was surrounded by controversy, including violations of school district policies, questionable hires and apparent attempts to hinder internal investigations.
Some parents at the time told WFAA Miles made improvements to the district while others said he threw DISD into more chaos.