Houston ISD administrators directed some campuses to cut staff and slash spending a month into the school starting, as the district confronts the mounting financial pressure of enrollment losses three years into a state takeover.
On Monday, The Texas Tribune published an investigation revealing the sweeping set of reforms state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has implemented, known as the New Education System, is straining district finances. HISD has dipped into reserves and had previous cuts to afford the costly reforms as it is losing tens of millions of dollars in state funding because of enrollment losses.
District officials characterized the recent reductions on Tuesday as part of its annual “campus leveling” process, in which schools receive more or less money depending on how closely their enrollment matches projections made in the spring. Employees affected by the reductions may be reassigned to other available positions, HISD officials said in a press release…