HOUSTON — Houston ISD could begin its transition back to elected leadership after the 2026-27 school year if the district meets the state’s requirements for ending the ongoing intervention.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles said in August that the district could exit state intervention relatively soon. The Texas Education Agency placed a board of managers over Houston ISD in June 2023, replacing the elected board of trustees and giving the appointed board authority over district governance.
Morath extended the intervention in June 2025 after determining that the district needed more time to improve. TEA’s return-to-control process requires the district to meet its exit criteria before the commissioner can begin restoring elected trustees.
Morath said Houston ISD still needs to improve its special education services.
“We want to see special education services improve in Houston, and so this will be one of the primary goals for them over the course of this school year to ensure they accomplish that objective,” Morath said.
Elected trustees would return in stages
Ending the state intervention would not immediately restore full authority to Houston ISD’s elected trustees.
TEA’s transition plan calls for the commissioner to replace one-third of the board of managers with elected trustees, followed by two additional transitions at one-year intervals. The process would move from a board consisting of six managers and three trustees to three managers and six trustees, and ultimately to nine elected trustees.
If Houston ISD begins the transition in 2027, the elected board would not regain a majority until the second stage of the transition. Full elected control would follow after the final stage.
Morath has authority over the transition under state law.
In Marlin ISD, which began its transition from state intervention in 2023, former Superintendent Darryl Henson said state-appointed officials and elected trustees worked together on recommendations for the transition.
“[Morath] said to us, ‘This is a community school district — so it is very incumbent upon the community, meaning the superintendent, elected and appointed board members, to truly work together,’” Henson said.
The Texas Education Agency did not respond to questions about whether it would use the same process for Houston ISD.
Houston trustees face staggered terms
Houston ISD has nine elected trustees whose terms expire at different times.
Savant Moore, Dani Hernandez, Patricia K. Allen and Placido Gomez have terms that expire at the end of 2027. Felicity Pereyra, Maria Benzon, Michael McDonough, Bridget Wade and Myrna Guidry have terms that run through 2029.
Monty Exter, director of government relations at the Association of Texas Professional Educators, said the remaining length of a trustee’s term could factor into decisions about when individual trustees return to the board.
“I could definitely see [they] might say, ‘Well, we’re not going to wait ’til year three on somebody that doesn’t have three years left in their term,’ but you know, maybe TEA doesn’t like that person [and] they are in fact going to wait till year three,” Exter said.
Mike Miles’ contract could affect future decisions
Some elected Houston ISD trustees have criticized Miles and campaigned on promises to remove him if they regain authority.
Houston ISD extended Miles’ contract in June 2025 through 2030. The contract set his base salary at $462,000.
Under the contract terms described in the report, if the elected trustees remove Miles in 2028 without cause, he could receive two years of his base salary, or about $924,000, along with two years of benefits.
The contract also allows the board to remove Miles for cause under certain circumstances, including failure to follow board directives or policies, gross negligence or dishonesty involving the district. Miles can also resign with the board’s consent.
Marlin offers an example
Marlin ISD returned to full elected control after its state intervention, and the elected board voted to retain Henson as superintendent.
“I felt like we got Marlin ISD in a great place and then, to be honest, I did want to allow the elected board to have the opportunity to select a superintendent of their choice,” Henson said.
The state-appointed board in Marlin had authority to hire its own superintendent while the district remained under state control. Southside ISD and Edgewood ISD also had state-appointed boards that selected their superintendents.
TEA has since exercised greater control over superintendent appointments in districts under state supervision. The agency says a board of managers temporarily exercises the powers and duties of an elected board of trustees until the district meets its exit criteria.
Houston ISD’s board of managers has remained in place since June 2023. TEA continues to list the district under a board of managers while the district works toward the requirements for a return to elected control.
