HISD

Efficiency
Report
An analysis of the District-level systems that challenge
HISD’s transformation efforts

February 2024
Introduction
Houston Independent School District In this report, we outline the most important
(HISD) is on the cusp of a dramatic systemic challenges we are addressing. For
each challenge, we provide context and then
and precipitous transformation.
outline what we are doing to make the system
We have transformed 85 schools through or process more effective. More plans to
whole-scale, systemic change; reorganized address these issues will be included in our
Central Office employees and divisions 2024-2025 District Action Plan, which is a tool
to support our schools; made significant, and a process that aligns efforts and introduces
District-wide improvement in instructional accountability in service of Destination 2035.
quality; and begun streamlining our efforts Just as we have created a sense of urgency
and resources to target improved academic around improving instruction, we will move
achievement for all students. We have deliberately to solve the systemic challenges
developed a true New Education System outlined below.
(NES)—one that leaves behind the ineffective
vestiges of the past and charges boldly towards The data and insights included in this report
the future. were generated and collected as District
leaders brought new perspectives and analyses
While progress has been made and we are to operating this large district. Through the
gaining momentum, we recognize that the normal course of managing a large organization,
changes our students and communities deserve reviewing reports, and asking questions, the
will not happen overnight. Many challenges we Superintendent and District leaders realized
must overcome go far beyond what you see in that the challenges revealed more than
a classroom. Our reforms to improve academic traditional problems—there were broader
outcomes and prepare students for a Year 2035 systemic challenges at work. Leaders began
workplace and world cannot take place without asking why. Why did hiring take a long time?
effective Central Office systems and processes. Why did we have many staff and purchased
Thus, we must identify and address ineffective services doing the same thing? Why were
and dysfunctional processes that have stymied we devoting an inordinate amount of district
past reform efforts and, in some cases, led to funds getting students to and from school?
the disparities in student data.

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The insights generated by those questions
and others are included here and will drive
continued efforts to bring new efficiencies and Leaders began asking
alignment to the District.
why. Why did hiring
The issues highlighted in this report are an take a long time? Why
accumulation of choices, circumstances,
leadership, culture, and limited accountability. did we have many staff
The issues are also not easy to define or unwind, and purchased services
nor will they be easy to solve. These are not
attention-grabbing challenges. It is like fixing
doing the same thing?
plumbing in a house—no one wants to spend Why were we devoting
money on that, but it is necessary. We offer this an inordinate amount
report to bring transparency to the challenges
and clarity around the level of change needed. of district funds
getting students to
and from school?

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1. U
 nal ig n e d & i nef f ect ive
b ud ge t pro ces s es

Prior to the state intervention, there was no by approximately 27,000 students. The increase
concerted effort to align school and District in Central Office expenditures was primarily
action plans with the budget. This lack of due to an increase in employee salaries and
alignment coupled with a decentralized benefits, which increased from a total of $1.53
approach to school improvement resulted in billion in SY 2016-2017 to $1.78 billion in SY
a failure to prioritize limited funds. The District's 2022-2023.
typical response was to add staff and increase
expenditures instead of using a budgeting The absence of an effective budgeting process
process to ensure alignment and effectiveness. also led to undisciplined and ill-advised
investments when the District started receiving
In a May 2023 report to the previous Board of federal Covid relief aid in 2020 to address
Trustees, the District reported that budgets learning loss. Over the past three-and-a-half
had increased, on a per-student basis, by 61 years, the District has received $1.2 billion in
percent. At the same time, enrollment dropped Elementary and Secondary School Emergency

Chart 1. Analysis from May 2023 Presentation on Central Office Staffing and Enrollment

Department Budgets ($) Enrollment

Historical Trends:
Central Office Budget
Per Student

Department budgets per

student have increased by
61% since 2017

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Relief (ESSER) funding. This investment did Even though the District received a huge
not result in higher academic achievement, increase in revenue and following a 9 percent
improved quality of instruction, or more salary increase to the teaching staff, prior to
efficient systems. the state intervention the District projected
that it would reach a “fiscal cliff” at the end of
The undisciplined approach to using ESSER the 2024-2025 school year, and that “without
dollars was also reflected in other areas. From proactive interventions, HISD would be likely to
March 2022 to May 2023, the District purchased fall below its fund balance reserve requirement
175 large school buses and 100 nine-passenger ($484 million) sometime in FY26” (see Chart
buses at a total cost of $31 million. But the 2 below). Further, the end of ESSER revenue,
District already had 225 extra operable buses the use of that revenue for $139 million in
to support any problems with the 520 buses it recurring expenses, and a large salary increase
used daily. While we may have needed some without offsetting decreases would accelerate
additional small buses, HISD purchased 175 the downward trend in fund balance. Despite
large new buses it did not need at a cost of this forecast, the District developed no plan to
approximately $20 million. Meanwhile, three of avoid the financial iceberg.
the four transportation centers in the District
have dilapidated facilities and poor working Procurement processes were also problematic
conditions. The technology and applications to and added to the budgetary woes. The
keep track of routes and buses are outdated and Legislative Budget Board (LBB) report of
cannot optimize routes. The budget process November 2019, which reviewed HISD’s
failed to prevent this level of inefficiency. management and performance, noted that

Chart 2. May 2023 Presentation on Anticipated Fund Balance Trends

Current outlook Fund Balance Trend

Calculated May 2023 Key Takeaways

• Board Reserve Requirement (set

by board policy in November
2012) represents 3 months of
operating expenses
• Fiscal cliff in FY25 accelerates
fund balance use
• Without proactive intervention,
HISD is likely to fall below its
requirements sometime in FY26
• As budget precision improves,
the likelihood of an increased
fund balance at FY end
decreases

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“Houston ISD’s procurement procedures
are inefficient and lack central oversight and
effective controls.”1 HISD has made some WHY THIS MATTERS
improvements in the procurement process, but
there are still challenges. The lack of systems An aligned and effective budget
and accountability have several negative process is necessary for ensuring
effects. For example: that the District’s resources are used
to maximize the ability to accomplish
• A number of contracts with vendors had challenging goals. As resources become
been left incomplete, without specific even more scarce with the end of ESSER
information about an obligated dollar funding, the District will have to do a
amount or a scope of work. In other cases, much better job prioritizing money to
contracts were awarded, but the funding support the specific needs of students
was not committed. and staff. One cannot prioritize
resources if the action planning process
• Individual school budgets were allowed to is not tightly aligned with the budget
run deficits. The per-pupil amount schools development process.
spent on students varied greatly leading to
unequal impacts on the student experience. Tight alignment and accountability
are also necessary because HISD is
• Programs were not reviewed consistently, engaged in the most important and
and there was no process in place extensive education transformation in
to determine program effectiveness the country. We are changing several
or alignment with school or District principles of how we operate, and our
achievement or performance goals. reform efforts require us to invest in new
models, end spending in some areas,
and shift other funds. And we may
have to implement enormous changes
without much additional revenue from
the State.

Houston ISD’s
procurement procedures
are inefficient and lack
central oversight and
effective controls.

1
 ISD Management and Performance Review, prepared by the Legislative Budget Board Staff, November 2019.
H
https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/188351

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
HISD has developed a closely aligned action planning and budgeting process. Appendix
A provides the timeline and steps for completing Action Plans and Budgets. This process
started in January 2024 and will be completed by the end of May, before being reviewed
and approved by the Board of Managers. The budgeting process includes a close review of
recurring costs funded by ESSER to determine which programs will continue to be funded
for the 2024-2025 school year. The process will also ensure alignment, both horizontally and
vertically, and close coordination among departments to maximize the use of resources.
The department budgets will be directly aligned to key department priorities and goals,
which are also aligned with District key actions and budget priorities. The process will hold
leaders at all levels accountable for clear indicators of success and other metrics.
Being disciplined in our use of a rigorous and aligned process will help us right the
financial ship and avoid the fiscal cliff. With this process, we will keep the District above an
$850 million fund balance.
The District is revising its purchasing and contracting regulations and will be providing
training and guidance to District staff as well as vendors and contractors. We have also
started to address other purchasing and contract management concerns outlined in the
LBB report cited earlier.
HISD will change how schools develop their budgets and how school leaders are held
accountable for aligning their budgets to action plans. The District will increase oversight
to ensure schools abide by approved budgets, and HISD will provide and oversee the
budget at every NES school. In addition, we will have a more coherent budget template
for non-NES principals to use in developing their schools’ budgets.

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2. O
 ve r r e l iance on
purchas e d s ervices

The LBB report also notes that during the 2017- specific projects and programs, the overuse of
2018 school year, the District spent “more than consultants comes with several other costs to
$300 million for professional and contracted overall effectiveness, especially if there is little
services” (which represented 9 percent of total oversight for department contracts and limited
expenditures). While consulting groups can accountability. Chart 3 below shows the general
add considerable value in conducting audits trend in both increases in Central Office payroll
and analyses of departments and in supporting and purchased services.

Chart 3. Trends in Central Office Payroll and General Fund Purchased Services, January 2024.

Central Office Total Payroll & General Fund Purchased Services

Fiscal Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

General Fund Purchased Services 365,859,411 500,348,751 511,098,694 324,004,148 464,795,792 458,503,707 521,224,995

Central Office Payroll 413,564,199 427,292,493 399,348,265 431,487,596 421,037,138 509,876,523 515,280,279

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On May 12, 2022, the District’s Board of
Education approved a five-year project term WHY THIS MATTERS
for professional development and training. This
project example is typical of how the District A District the size of HISD needs the
approached its contracting processes and support of consulting groups and
professional development. Instead of defining a considerable purchased services.
specific need, budget, and services that would However, it also must have a system to
improve instructional quality or leadership ensure core functions are conducted
aligned to a desired outcome, the project was by internal personnel and that they are
a catch-all for more than 200 approved vendors working effectively. Besides increasing
with a not-to-exceed amount of $125 million. costs, the overuse of consulting groups
This approval would have allowed the District and others that provide purchased
to pick and choose a vendor without a plan for services will diminish effectiveness and
ensuring those services would align to a vision create secondary costs:
of teaching and learning. Most important, the
District would have spent $25 million a year on • Overreliance on consultants and
professional development that the District’s contractors will make coordination
own staff could provide at a small fraction of between departments harder and
the contracted amount. may reinforce siloing.

Another example is the reliance on purchased • It will weaken key operating principles
services without the systems needed to such as accountability and a focus on
manage the financial obligations along with outcomes. Usually, consulting groups
the work assignments. The current contracts focus on process and are not charged
are housed in a platform (equivalent to a Word with, and should not be ultimately
document) that does not facilitate any level of responsible for, achieving clearly
thoughtful review; further, these contracts are defined departmental outcomes.
without a specific dollar amount or service level
agreement. With all these contracts, the District • It may undermine the District’s ability
had authorized nearly $3 billion in purchased to grow capacity if the organization
services and contractors. Simultaneously, the continues to rely on consultants to fix
District has internal staff who could deliver most of its systemic problems.
these services—including plumbers, HVAC
technicians, professional development experts, • Relying on purchased services to
curriculum writers, etc. The services span every train teachers and principals on
area of the District. Yet without the related instructional programs or practices
analytical systems, leaders are prevented from is particularly problematic, especially
thoughtfully ensuring the District is getting the if numerous organizations and
best services at the best value. contractors are involved. It makes
instructional alignment across the
District next to impossible and
thwarts efforts to use a common,
rigorous evaluation system.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
For the 2024-2025 District budget, HISD will cut approximately $50 million in purchased
services. This will force a review of programs and services that are either not aligned
with the District Action Plan or that have failed to achieve established goals. A review
of contracts over $250,000 that have been signed in the past four years is ongoing. The
chief of staff and chief financial officer are leading the work to prioritize resources and
reduce the amount of purchased services in a way that maximizes the District’s ability to
accomplish the goals outlined in the 2024-2025 Action Plan.

At the same time, the chief financial officer and the Operations Department will develop a
coherent system to determine when it is appropriate to enlist the services of a purchased
service or other contractor when we have employees whose job is to complete the same
task or project. HISD is already strengthening its procurement processes and is working to
ensure there are checks and balances for the procurement of purchased services; that only
the Finance Department or Superintendent’s Office can approve purchases over $500,000;
and that the School Board must approve any contract over $1 million.

Despite causing some frustration among vendors who had contracts with various schools to
train teachers or principals, the District has disallowed any contract or purchased services
to train teachers, principals, or other leaders on improving the quality of instruction, with
few exceptions.

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3. I nab i l i t y to t r ack & manag e
e m ploye e wor k ar r ang em ents

HISD is a large, complex organization with neglected, and people have not been held
27,000 employees. Every week, people accountable for the accurate tracking and
resign, retire, get hired, go on leave, get management of employees, especially at
promoted, return from long-term disability, Central Office. In June 2023, for example, the
have their contract terminated, and more. The Finance Department discovered 990 people
District should have a well-defined and well- on the employment roll who no longer worked
coordinated process for keeping track of its for the District. In part, this problem is a result
employees and managing those employees’ of ineffective offboarding processes. Many of
work arrangements and responsibilities. these former employees had been gone for
Unfortunately, human resources and finance several years (only a handful were continuing to
processes to track employees have been receive a paycheck). An inaccurate Authorized

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Position Report—or APR, which is the official departments had not yet adopted the system
list of employees assigned to an office—makes and others had uneven usage.
it difficult for a leader to know exactly how many
people may be needed to do the work or may Over many years, the District created numerous
mask the need to hire additional people. These job codes (more than 3,000). These job codes
inaccuracies also increase various overhead are discrete numbers assigned to unique roles.
expenses such as unemployment insurance and The reason for this large number, we speculate,
workers’ compensation. is to differentiate responsibilities, to provide
more opportunities for people to be promoted
Limited use of accountability systems and outside of the normal compensation timeline,
the lack of shared cultural norms have led to or to provide small raises and stipends to
overtime abuse. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, employees who have a skill that their colleagues
nearly 650 employees accrued overtime hours do not have. The proliferation of job codes adds
that exceeded 30 percent of their earnings. unnecessary complexity to tracking employees
The District paid nearly $26 million in overtime and to understanding and comparing skills and
pay this past fiscal year. For example, one compensation needs. Again, there was little
hourly employee with an annualized salary oversight and no accountability for the new
of nearly $25,000 (based on the hourly rate, responsibilities and work accomplishment.
scheduled hours, and duty calendar) earned Making the job codes so discrete masked the
almost $115,000. In reviewing this case further, reality of how individuals are employed and
assigned important work, making it difficult to
identify trends from the dataset.

Managers need two key systems to oversee

non-exempt employees: 1) a system to track
how much work is being accomplished by the
employee, and 2) an understanding of how
much time a specific task takes to complete
(called a “service level agreement”). Both are
critical and their absence creates systemic
challenges in managing time and completing
work efficiently.

it was noted that the individual was working In HISD, there is no system for tracking how
too many hours by both regularly opening a much work is being accomplished by an hourly
building early in the morning and closing the employee. The Operations Department has
facility late in the evenings. Another example no platform or software to keep track of the
is an employee with a regular salary of $73,300 amount of time each employee is taking to
who earned $162,701 with overtime work. accomplish tasks and work orders. There are
also no detailed service level agreements that
In April 2023, the District moved to a would inform employee and supervisor alike
technology based solution for tracking time— of how much time a specific task should take
TimeClock Plus—to improve the District’s on average. These informal agreements of
ability to manage individuals’ time. However, understanding occur between a service provider
early implementation was not uniform, as some (e.g., Central Office support employee) and a

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customer (e.g., school or person placing a work
order). They outline the level of service that
will be provided and the average amount of
time it takes to accomplish that service. So, for
example, under the previous system, if a school
Managers need two key
needs a toilet’s flushing mechanism repaired, systems to oversee non-exempt
the school does not know when the toilet employees: 1) a system to
will likely be repaired, and neither the school track how much work is being
nor the maintenance worker understands the accomplished by the employee,
time needed to repair the toilet. If it took four and 2) an understanding of
hours to repair the toilet, the supervisor of the how much time a specific task
maintenance worker would not know if that takes to complete.
was a reasonable amount of time spent on that
work order.

Most importantly—because there is not a system

in place to track and manage employee time
and effectiveness—Central Office supervisors, WHY THIS MATTERS
especially those in the Operations Department,
do not really know how many employees they In a high-performance culture, every part
need and how efficiently or inefficiently they of the organization is working efficiently
are using human capital resources. And since and effectively. Every person on the team
supervisors do not know how many employees has clear responsibilities and assignments.
they really need, they cannot effectively Supervisors monitor work agreements
determine the degree to which they need and the fulfillment of responsibilities
outside consultants to help complete tasks. and assignments. Efficiency cannot be
maximized if there is not a system to track
and manage employee time and effort.

As we increase the number of NES

schools, a greater percentage of the
District’s budget will go toward our core
work: providing high-quality instruction
to students. That means we will have to
create a leaner Central Office and grow
our effectiveness so that we need fewer
employees working at the administration
building. And we will not need as many
contractors and vendors doing the work
our employees can accomplish. Ensuring
our systems provide accurate information
will help leaders make the right decisions
regarding the work of employees and
contractors.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
HISD will create detailed service level agreements and adopt a work management
application that will integrate service level agreements to improve efficiency and that will
track work orders and employee hours to complete work. We will have these in place
by June 1, 2024. In the meantime, all departments have been directed to review their
management systems, assess their department’s overall work efficiency, and restructure as
appropriate. A review of the department assessments will help right-size Central Office for
the 2024-2025 school year.

The District will create a process to standardize time clock use and overtime pay and
ensure there is rigorous oversight of both. HISD has also installed and is supporting a
Payroll Control Center and will be developing and distributing accountability reports to
improve completion of processes needed for timely and accurate payroll processing. At
the same time, the Human Resources Department is working closely with and across all
departments and schools to ensure they are accurately reporting and capturing all staff
members on their teams in the APR, which is regularly updated and reviewed by office
leaders.

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4. L ow e x pec tat ions & overs ight
of e m ployee at t endance

In the past few years, the District has been The District leaves and absences policy was
plagued by excessive employee absences. For not consistently enforced, and it appears as
example, in the 2022-2023 school year, 1,293 if no one was accountable for violations of
teachers—only 300 of whom qualified for leave the leave policy. Staff absences were higher
under the federal Family and Medical Leave on professional development days and days
Act (FMLA)—used 20 or more days of leave before or after a holiday even though these
and more than their allotted amount of time practices were prohibited by policy (DEC8
with little or no consequence. The teacher (REGULATION). Further, high staff absenteeism
attendance rate decreased to 92 percent, on Mondays and Fridays, while generally not
down from 93 percent in May 2019 (the year prohibited by Board policy, is illustrative of a
before Covid). The attendance rate for Central culture that did not prioritize student learning.
Office staff was 92 percent in May 2019 and 90 The District was not enforcing its own policies
percent in May 2023. Further, the number of and cultural norms and did not hold individuals
days for which individuals took unpaid leave— accountable to be present for work.
also known as docked days—was more than
52,200 days in the 2022-2023 school year.

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As expected, low staff attendance was also
a product of ineffective processes and low
expectations. The District had a process for
tracking employee absences, but it was mostly
In the 2022-2023 school
self administered and only the most egregious
cases rose to the attention of supervisors. year, 1,293 teachers—only
Employees requested time off through an 300 of whom qualified for
impersonal tech platform, OneSource, and did leave under the federal
not have to approach principals or supervisors
Family and Medical Leave
for approval. While many principals or managers
did oversee leave or absences, many did not. Act (FMLA)—used 20 or
Numerous employees ignored the leave policy more days of leave and
and used accrued days whenever they wanted. more than their allotted
Principals and supervisors felt helpless to
amount of time with little
enforce a policy that was not being enforced
across most of the District and for which no one or no consequence.
was being held accountable.

WHY THIS MATTERS

When teachers are absent, students do
not learn as well. The entire staff also
suffers when too many people are absent
since typically classes are combined
or teachers lose their planning period.
In addition, Central Office absences
negatively impact support for schools
and make it more difficult to complete
projects and work orders on time.
Lastly, excessive absences in all areas of
the District increase the cost of day-to-
day operations.

Staff attendance is a sign of

professionalism and a high-performance
culture. If the District is going to continue
to conduct whole-scale, systemic
reform and raise student performance
outcomes, it will need a motivated,
professional staff that believes showing
up for work is a crucial habit of mind
and is how a commitment to students
manifests itself.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
Starting with the 2023-2024 school year, principals and supervisors are accountable for
staff attendance. That means they must track the attendance of all their employees, help
staff members understand and follow the leave and absence policy, encourage good
attendance, and administer appropriate consequences up to and including termination
for excessive absences.

The regulations have been revised to ensure all employees request leave directly from
principals or supervisors and that permission must be received before a person is absent.
In the case of a last-minute illness, employees must obtain approval as soon as possible
via phone.

To support principals and supervisors, the Human Resources Department issues daily “real-
time” notices for all principals and managers of staff who have crossed into prohibited high
absenteeism. The attention to this issue is already reaping dividends as high absenteeism
has declined 53 percent over the previous school year.

The District is also developing resources to mitigate high absenteeism. Human Resources is
facilitating next steps when individual circumstances warrant action, sending final workflow
instructions to principals and managers, and creating a highly trained Employee Services
Center to answer questions or route inquiries to the appropriate departments. In addition,
Human Resources is also creating and socializing an employee handbook aligned with
Destination 2035 to enhance retention and performance of highest-quality staff through
effective and clear communication of expectations and resources.

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5. I n e ff ec tive pro ces s es for
r ecrui tm e n t & hi r i ng staf f

In August 2022, the District started the school The recruitment processes were overly
year with 644 teacher vacancies. The large bureaucratic and relieved everyone of
number of vacancies was a result of two key accountability to hire candidates effectively
factors: 1) absence of an effective plan and a or start the school year with a teacher in
concerted effort to fill vacancies with certified every classroom; in other words, to have zero
and effective teachers before the start of school, vacancies. Teacher candidates could only apply
and 2) cumbersome recruitment processes that on the District’s website. The District was not
were onerous to candidates and frustrating to using any modern recruitment platforms (such
principals. as Indeed.com) to attract workers. Teacher
candidates spent a couple of weeks trying to

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get an interview with a school leader. And,
as a general rule, teacher candidates did not
have to undergo a performance interview to be
hired. This meant that the process focused on In August 2022, the District
a candidate’s application and paperwork rather started the school year with
than steps to discern a teacher’s effectiveness
in improving student outcomes. 644 teacher vacancies.

Furthermore, once a principal had decided to

hire a teacher, it regularly took more than three WHY THIS MATTERS
additional weeks to get that individual formally
hired. In many cases it took even longer. The A nation-wide teacher shortage will plague
Human Resources Department did not offer most districts for the next couple of years.
preliminary contracts until they had completed If HISD is going to ensure it has enough
the requisite background check and verification certified and effective teachers to start
of credentials. It is standard practice in many the school year with a teacher in every
districts to sign contracts with teachers and classroom, then the District must have an
then note that the contract is dependent efficient system of recruitment—one that
upon Board approval, a background check, is designed to be thorough, but not overly
and verification of credentials. Many teacher bureaucratic, and one that focuses on a
candidates who had agreed to work at a school candidate’s effectiveness rather than their
subsequently dropped out of HISD’s process resume.
presumably having been offered a contract in a
The Human Resources Department and
neighboring district.
leaders who interview candidates must
adapt to broader changes in the market
The number of people required to recruit and
regarding how people prefer to search for
onboard a single individual was approximately
jobs. While the District needs to continue
12 people across several departments and
to hold job fairs and other traditional
teams. This long process of hiring teachers
recruitment approaches, it also needs to
which involved multiple people and teams
expand its marketing and recruitment
encouraged adherence to overly involved
efforts to online platforms where teachers
recruitment procedures and compliance
go to make their own search process more
requirements, ensuring the candidates would
efficient.
face bureaucratic delays and multiple back-
and-forth communications and requests for Huge changes to HISD’s recruitment
information. The process also reinforced process also matter because of the
a status quo that lacked accountability for District’s new employee value proposition.
making the recruitment process more efficient Districts that are intentional in hiring
and adaptable to change. the kind of teacher who reflects the
characteristics and skills that the district
prioritizes—in HISD’s case, those who can
deliver high-quality instruction—will be
able to recruit and retain effective teachers
at higher rates.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
In the winter and spring of 2024, teachers in 130 schools (the NES schools for SY 24-
25) will be selected based primarily on an assessment of their quality of instruction and
student achievement results. All teachers who are applying to work in any HISD school for
the first time will undergo a performance interview by which candidates will demonstrate
the quality of their teaching.

The Human Resources Department is changing the recruitment process to include common
online job search platforms such as Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Monster, and LinkedIn. Principals
will also be able to review candidate resumes directly. An aggressive recruitment campaign
will start early in 2024 and will be sustained through the beginning of the 2024-2025
school year. The campaign will feature the highest salaries for any Independent School
District in Texas.

The District is also creating processes to shorten the application-to-onboarding timeline

by decreasing time for each critical phase: application to interview, interview to salary
calculation, salary calculation to conditional offer, conditional offer to final offer, and final
offer to onboarding.

Beyond the technical and process improvements, HISD is also working to recruit people
who want to be a part of a transformative environment and high-performance culture.
The District will clearly specify the value proposition to prospective new hires to manage
expectations regarding Destination 2035 and what it means to work in a high-performance
culture.

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6. dys func tional
T r an s p ortat ion syst em

Currently, the District transports only 8,700 there are not enough drivers, which happens
students to and from school at a cost of $56 often, some routes are cancelled or are so late,
million a year. That means it costs over $6,400 students find alternative ways to get to school
to transport one student in a year. For context, or just stay at home.
the national per-pupil transportation spend
average was $1,197 in school year 2018-
2019, the most recent data available. It is not
implausible to envision that the District could
spend approximately the same amount of
money if it eliminated its transportation system
and just gave every rider’s family money for
Uber or another ride-sharing transportation
company.

Another indicator of inefficiency is the low

number of students on each bus. The District
has 520 routes for its large buses (60-passenger
buses), and the average ridership is fewer
than 17 students per route. Just doubling the
number of students per bus would save the
District approximately $25 million a year.

There has been no significant change to the

methodology of transporting students or to
the current system of routes and stops to make
the system more cost effective while improving
services for students.

On top of the cost inefficiency, the

transportation system is not reliable. Buses are
often late to stops and late to school. When

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 The District has 520 routes for its large buses
(60-passenger buses), and the average ridership is fewer
than 17 students per route. Just doubling the number of
students per bus would save the District approximately
$25 million a year.

WHY THIS MATTERS

A more efficient transportation system
would save the District millions of dollars
that could then be invested in salaries or
other priorities. Fixing the transportation
system also matters because the parents
and students are bearing huge costs
in time, frustration, and efforts to find
alternative transportation when the
system fails.

The District’s inefficiency contributes to

student tardiness and absences. When
buses are late to stops or to school,
students miss instruction, which takes
away from a high-quality education.

While the monetary costs are substantial,

the cost to the District culture is also
important. The continuously ineffective
transportation system has reinforced
a culture of low expectations and
works against a culture of continuous
improvement. Many parents have simply
given up on District transportation, just
as others have given up on the District’s
schools and enrolled their students
elsewhere.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
The District has adopted Edulog, a software that assists with routing, fleet tracking, ridership
and driver management, parent communications, and reporting. This will increase the
accuracy of our reporting as well as efficiency and safety. The Transportation Department
is working to reduce the inventory of buses that are not necessary to reduce upkeep and
maintenance costs. We are also speaking with transportation experts from other industries
to obtain their insights and suggestions for how to improve our systems.

HISD will also review all systems and processes related to transportation in the District. We
will then develop a more cost-effective system and more effective organizational structures
and procedures to reduce costs and provide better service.

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7. H
 ig h ly dece ntral i zed system of
au tonomous s cho ol s wi thou t
com me nsur ate accountabi l i t y

At some point in the past, it probably made The District’s decentralized system also lacked
sense to allow schools a great degree of any measures to hold schools accountable
autonomy to provide different programs and to for District-level goals and priorities. Unable
operate in ways tailored to the specific needs and unwilling to hold schools accountable for
of the immediate community. While this may student outcomes, the District turned to holding
sound good in concept, the reality of this level of schools accountable for following procedures,
decentralization revealed that the vast majority such as printing copies of individual student
of schools needed a tremendous amount plans and placing them in yellow folders, and
of support—financially and instructionally— for completing reports. Compliance rather than
to provide even an adequate education for student outcomes became the focus.
students. And because the schools operated so
differently with their own curriculum, programs, It is hard to overstate the negative impact
staffing, and internal schedules, the District decentralization without accountability has on
could not take advantage of economies of any district.
scale and could only provide limited support at
greater cost.

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For HISD, the system resulted in the following:
• An evaluation system with no real ability to • Poor alignment between school budgets and
determine true effectiveness. Ninety-four improvement plans.
percent of all teachers received a proficient • Significant inequities in the provision of
or higher evaluation in the 2022-2023 school programs, especially those related to career
year. Only 3 percent of teachers were removed and technical education (CTE) and college
from the District for poor performance. preparedness.
• School leaders who failed to improve • The inconsistent and inadequate provision of
achievement results over multiple years were support services.
allowed to remain in their positions.
• The inability to scale any idea or model that
• A myriad of different curricula, many of which was successful.
were not high quality or were not consistent
with the science of reading principles. • The breakdown of any past system that enabled
the District to move in one direction.
• No standard for what high-quality instruction
meant or looked like. • An inappropriate use of Independent
Graduation Committees (IGCs) as a strategy
• A focus on interventions instead of good, first for graduating students that did not pass the
instruction. end-of-course exams. There were 16 campuses
• A proliferation of programs and purchased in HISD graduating students via IGCs at a rate
services with no attempt to measure their above the TEA threshold of 10 percent, one
effectiveness. of which graduated 50 percent of students
• The inconsistent application of District policies via this path. Further, there were also no
and regulations such as staff attendance and centralized requirements in place to ensure
leave policies. students graduating via IGC met the academic
requirements necessary for graduation.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The Texas Education Agency intervention parameters; however, we must adjust this
requires dramatic improvement for most practice to ensure our campuses operate in
District schools. This in turn requires that alignment with and are held accountable to
HISD rebuild the District-level systems and a larger system.
processes that will lead to transformation and
toward one guiding vision. This rebuilding of Because of the dysfunction caused by a
District-level vision, system, and processes will decentralized system, full autonomy without
mean that school leadership decisions must, accountability must end. School autonomy
to a greater degree, align with the District will be limited based on various indicators
vision. For example, to support schools with of success described by the District. School
efficient budgeting, the Central Office team leaders and school staff had adapted to the
will provide parameters such as essential low expectations of a compliance-focused
staff to be included in staffing rosters and/or system; they will have to be coached to
diligence requirements for selecting external operate as part of a larger team and a larger
providers for contract supports. Previously, system.
schools were able to move forward without

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
The District has changed the dynamic for leading NES schools—school leaders follow a
specific instructional model and way of operating. NES campuses receive the maximum
level of District guidance, from following a specific instructional model, to budgeting,
staffing, and master schedules. In the 2024-2025 school year, approximately 130 schools—
or 47 percent of the District—will be NES schools whose programmatic and operational
model is delineated by District leadership. NES schools will have little autonomy, which
will position the principal to focus on instruction instead of operational details that can and
should be handled by Central Office.

HISD is also in the process of reviewing the performance and operations of all schools and
assessing the degree of autonomy that makes the most sense for each school. The District
is using a “Defined Autonomy System Matrix” to assist District leaders in determining the
degree of autonomy each school should receive. The Defined Autonomy System will be
implemented beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. In any case, autonomy will not be
automatically assumed; it will have to be earned in alignment with the school’s ability to
demonstrate positive results.

Lastly, the District is taking deliberative steps to reshape the principal role into one
focused primarily on instruction. That has required a deep review of requirements and
responsibilities that had been typically assigned to principals and that now are being
completed by Central Office and support personnel. We are removing redundancies in
processes such as requiring schools to complete a campus improvement plan and upload
that plan into a separate platform. Executive directors are doing the work of managing
these requirements so principals can provide the instructional leadership so desperately
needed in the District.

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8. N
 o unif ying vi s ion of
h ig h-qualit y i nstru ction
or high - qual i t y pro grammi ng

As a result of autonomy without accountability, supervisors could explain how to improve the
the District had no unifying vision for improving quality of instruction besides using purchased
the quality of instruction even though it is services.
the leading indicator of improved student
outcomes. Every school had its own way of Similarly, there was no common understanding
supporting or training teachers to improve of “high-quality instructional materials.” There
instruction. Most did not prioritize high-quality was wide variation in school-selected and non-
instruction; others purchased a program to vetted curricula. Some curricula were not of high
develop one aspect of instruction or hired quality, such as reading resources that were not
consultants to train teachers or school leaders aligned with the science of reading research.
on another aspect of instruction. Last year, In English Language Arts, HISD schools were
the average school used 33 applications or using 30 different curricula. Schools were using
programs that were intended to help some 22 different math curricula. There was also no
aspect of instruction. The average school spent monitoring of data for the majority of programs
approximately $141,000 on purchased services to ensure fidelity of implementation.
to help with curriculum or instruction. Across
all schools, $37.8 million was spent, and the CTE programming has been similarly flawed.
highest amount spent by any one campus was The District allowed schools to choose their
$1.1 million.

It is unclear whether these programs were

implemented with any fidelity or whether the
purchased services delivered the promised
bang for the bucks that were spent. There were
no clear metrics or goals outlined to measure
success or to determine whether the programs
or services should be continued. What is
known is that student achievement dropped
dramatically in the 2022-2023 school year. It is
also clear that at the beginning of the 2023-
2024 school year, very few principals or their

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own Programs of Study (POS), which led
to large differences in quality and fidelity
of implementation. Additionally, many CTE
courses had low enrollment and schools were Every school had its own way of
offering courses that were out of sequence from supporting or training teachers
the POS and/or did not set students up to be to improve instruction. Most
ready for college, career, or the military. There did not prioritize high-quality
was no systematic approach to monitor college, instruction; others purchased
career, or military readiness (CCMR) attainment a program to develop one
for students, nor for how to strategically ensure aspect of instruction or hired
students were empowered to be prepared consultants to train teachers or
based on their needs and program path. school leaders on another aspect
of instruction.
The introduction of individualized POS in
schools, while intended to diversify and enhance
educational opportunities, inadvertently
exacerbated existing inequities among
students. This situation stemmed from the lack WHY THIS MATTERS
of a uniform, strategic approach in implementing
Delivering high-quality instruction
these programs. Each school’s unique
supported by high-quality instructional
adoption of the POS led to inconsistencies—
materials is at the heart of what schools
especially when students transferred between
do. If there is no standard set by the
schools—creating challenges like misaligned
District for either quality curriculum or
course sequences and inadequacies in
instruction, students will be subjected
master scheduling. Moreover, the decision to
to a wide range of materials of
sunset certain programs based on leadership
varying quality and to a wide range of
preferences or the skills of specific teachers,
instructional effectiveness.
rather than focusing on long-term sustainability,
made existing disparities worse. The issue was
Without a clear picture of the
compounded by foundational problems such
characteristics of high-quality instruction,
as teacher turnover, high student mobility,
school leaders have only a vague notion
and varied academic performances, which
of the quality of instruction they should
hindered students’ ability to fully engage
be striving to achieve. Key actions will be
with and complete their chosen POS. Thus,
less relevant, continuous improvement
the decentralized approach to implementing
will remain conceptual, and both
POS, although well-intentioned, ended up
teacher and principal evaluations will be
reinforcing educational inequalities.
perfunctory.
Lack of clarity, guidance, and accountability
It matters because no district, much less
related to student support led to significant
one that is undergoing transformation,
gaps in campus and District-wide systems for
can improve outcomes for students
Disciplinary Alternative Education Program
without raising instructional quality.
assignments and consequences; STAAR End-of-
Course retesting, credit recovery, and serving
overage students.

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 WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ADDRESS THIS SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE
The District has developed a framework and a process (immortalized in spot observation
forms) that clearly outline the characteristics of high-quality instruction for all grade levels
and for various types of courses. To reinforce this view of high-quality instruction, school
leaders are required to conduct six spot observations every week. We created a spot
observation application that allows school leaders and their supervisors to view, record,
and analyze classroom observation data in a consistent way across the District.
There is tight alignment among the characteristics of high-quality instruction, instructional
feedback, professional development, and both teacher and principal evaluations. Executive
directors are trained by the District every week and principals are trained every month to
ensure alignment throughout the District and to ensure everyone involved in instruction
has one standard and understands the expectations.
Regarding high-quality instructional materials, the District has vetted and adopted
high-quality material in the core subjects. These are required materials in the NES schools,
which will include 130 campuses next school year. For the lower-performing schools not
involved with NES, the District will oversee their curricular choices and require vetted
materials. For all other non-NES schools, the District will support their movement to
high-quality instructional materials over the next two years.
The District has identified four core CTE POS that, based on regional workforce data,
prepare students for jobs in high-skilled fields that are both growing rapidly (500+ new
jobs created annually) and provide a median salary over $75,000 a year. These are the
career pathways of the future, and our students can use these programs as a springboard
to college or as an entry point to the workforce after graduation. By giving every high
school student access to four core POS, we will expand access to high-skill jobs so that
all HISD students are prepared for success in the workplace and world of 2035. HISD’s
core POS are Networking Systems; Business Management and Entrepreneurship; Health
Informatics; and Distribution, Logistics, and Warehousing.
Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, most high school campuses will implement at least
two of these four POS for ninth graders. Many campuses are already offering some—or
in a few cases, all—of these programs. Moving forward, all HISD high school students will
have access to these POS.

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Conclusion
It is difficult to overstate the impact of these inefficiencies on HISD’s ability to
serve students well. And while some level of dysfunction in the system is to
be expected given that HISD has lacked consistent leadership, unifying vision,
and adequate accountability, the breadth and depth of these breakdowns is
difficult to comprehend until you are forced to tackle them head on.

The work to identify these barriers to change, to our facilities so that every student can learn
address their root cause, and repair each in a safe and healthy environment. And most
individual piece of the system is underway. And importantly, we will create a District-wide
while it will take time, we will reimagine what commitment to excellence that prioritizes
is possible, and then build the new systems shared accountability and an unyielding
necessary to align all the District’s resources— commitment to improving student outcomes.
facilities, people, money—to our priority of
becoming the first large urban district to serve Finally, given the scale and the importance of the
all its students well. We also know that as we work to be done, we are also asking the broader
rebuild systems, we must work even harder to HISD community to make a commitment to our
rebuild trust. HISD has not met its commitments schools and students as well. We must ask the
to students and families. Compensation for our community to put the needs of students first.
faculty and staff has lagged, and HISD has not We need to begin a conversation with the
always been a responsible steward of taxpayer entire HISD community about how we invest
dollars. This District should be a point of pride in and maintain our school buildings. And the
for this community, whether you have a student community must hold the Administration and
enrolled in one of our schools or not. We know the School Board accountable for what we
that is not always the case now, but it will be. provide for students. Once we are focused on
what is best for kids, it will be impossible not
This report outlined very specific steps we will to make better choices. And those choices will
take on key issues moving forward. But we hope ensure that HISD is not only returned to local
it also captures the larger commitment HISD is control, but also permanently transformed into
making to our community. HISD will provide a vital community asset where excellence is the
excellent instruction to every student, every expectation and failure is not an option.
day. We will provide compensation that attracts
talent back to HISD and incents excellence at
every level. We will finally address the years
of deferred maintenance and improvements

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APPENDIX A: 2024-2025 Action Pl anning
and Bud get Development Timelines

2024-2025 Action Planning and Budget Development Timelines

NLT Date District Action Plan Responsible Parties Budget Development Process

Outline action planning timeline and budget Outline action planning timeline and budget
January 2024 Superintendent/ CFO
timeline with Core Team development timeline

Draft the 24-25 District Action Plan Superintendent

Provide the School Board with a preview

Provide the School Board with a preview of
February 2024 Superintendent of Action Plan and Budget Development
Action Plan and Budget Development process
process

Develop budget assumptions and initial

Superintendent/ CFO
parameters; brief core team

Create new budget development tools to

Superintendent/ CFO support Prinicipals in creating budgets for
non-NES schools

Central Office Teams develop Action Plans Cabinet

Train departments on 60/20/20 budget

Superintendent and CFO
process

Departments receive guidance and templa-

Superintendent/ CFO
teto build 2024-2025 budget

Superintendent &
Review and approve Central Office action plans
Cabinet

Departments develop prioritized budgets for

March 2024 Cabinet officials
the 2024-2025 school year

Train principals and other school leaders on

Train principals and other school leaders on ac- At Principals' meeting;
action planning and budget development
tion planning and budget development process Superintendent and CFO
process

Non-NES schools receive guidance and tem-

At Prinicipals' Meeting;
plates so principals can building 2024-2025
Superintendent/ CFO
school budgets

Brief stakeholders on action planning,

Preview District Action Plan and Budget Process COS/ Communications budget development process, and budget
assumptions
April 2024 CFO Finalize department budgets

Schools submit draft School Action Plans Division Superintendents

Brief Core Team on final proposed budget and Brief Core Team on final proposed budget
Superintendent/ CFO
alignment with District Action Plan and alignment with District Action Plan

DAC, Principal Focus

Explain proposed budget with selected
Group, Teacher Advisory
advocacy and advisory groups
Council, Others

Brief BOM on draft budget and alignment with Brief BOM on final proposed budget and
Superintendent/ CFO
District Action Plan alignment with District Action Plan

Division Superinten- Non-NES schools submit proposed 2024-

dents/ CFO 2025 budget

Update BOM on District Action Plan and 2024- Update BOM on District Action Plan and
May 2024 Superintendent and CFO
2025 Budget 2024-2025 Budget

June 2024 Superintendent and CFO Adopt the 2024-2025 Budget

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 HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center
4400 West 18th Street • Houston, Texas 77092-8501