Saavedra back to HISD after an extraordinary meeting of directors

In a noisy school council meeting filled with screaming and accusations by trustees, the Houston Independent School District board of directors replaced acting superintendent Grenita Lathan last Thursday with former superintendent statistical information on disability, Abelardo Saavedra.

The vote, which follows a motion that several board members said surprised them, takes Ms. Lathan back to her previous role as chief academic officer.

The vote marks the third leader this calendar year for the school district of 214,000 students.

The unexpected discussion took place as the directors were about to decide to extend the Lathan contract until September 30, 2019.

In September, the directors had already voted 6-3 to launch a national superintendent's search with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, based in Illinois, the same company that had helped identify former Superintendent Richard Carranza.

Before the directors voted on the Lathan contract, Councilor Diana Davila proposed a motion to remove Lathan as interim chief of the district and to insert Saavedra.

This motion was strongly criticized by Councilor Wanda Adams, who stated that there was a racial division on the board of directors between the African American and Latin American women councilors. She added that the proposal should have been discussed in camera rather than at the podium.

"It's disrespectful," Adams said. "I did not know anything at all. Some of my other colleagues were not aware. Some knew it – (Sergio) Lira knew, Holly (Flynn Vilaseca) knew about it and Elizabeth (Santos) knew about it. This refers to my initial statement on racism in this council. "

Members of the public and other council members mutilated each other while Lathan sat face down at the Superintendent's headquarters.

Lathan was hired to head HISD temporarily in March after former Superintendent Richard Carranza suddenly left to head the public school system of New York City.

After the meeting, Davila and her adviser Holly Flynn Vilaseca published a new joint publication.

"Our district is facing tough decisions in the coming months, we look forward to working with Dr. Saavedra while he provides temporary stewardship of the district's day-to-day administration," says communicated.

He adds that the appointment of Saavedra as Interim Superintendent "gives Ms. Lathan the opportunity to apply for the position of Superintendent without Conflict of Interest."

"It is only appropriate that the district be headed by a person who has no interest in the outcome of the next search for superintendents," Davila said.

Vilaseca called Saavedra "in his place" to lead the district, while the council was reviewing candidates for superintendents across the country.

"Our kids deserve the best leadership," Vilaseca said. "When an interim holder looks for a permanent position, this creates a barrier to attracting a diverse and qualified list of candidates."

The council had been clearly divided for weeks over whether to keep Lathan as permanent superintendent. This split gave way to resentment at Thursday's meeting when Adams and Councilor Jolanda Jones complained of a racial divide on the board of directors and Rhonda Skillern- Jones, criticized the maneuvers of the other board members.

"I do not know how an administrator can speak in the interim, then he becomes acting without the contribution of the other eight members," said Skillern-Jones. "I come back to transparency, because if we pull the tape from the last meeting, the same administrator said when we asked to give this lady (Lathan) a contract," we are not because my community Did not check that. We are not going to go in camera and do business and go out and give him an interim contract with her. Hmmm. So for me, I am very confused about the hypocrisy of it all. Very confused. "

She was referring to Davila, who voted against a motion last month to extend Lathan's 12-month contract.

Thursday's unexpected developments recall complaints from former Superintendent Richard Carranza, who told a state-appointed observer, observing HISD, that he had become more and more frustrated by the board of directors.

Carranza, writes the controller, complained that some administrators were politically motivated, had overstepped their governance role, and had not engaged in constructive conversations about issues.

Saavedra previously led HISD between 2005 and 2009 before becoming the leader of South San Antonio ISD in March 2014. The South San Antonio ISD Board of Directors accepted his resignation after announcing he would leave this district in June.

The administrators had initially chosen Lathan to temporarily head the district in March, after nine hours behind closed doors.

She joined HISD in 2015 as the chief officer who oversaw troubled primary schools. Previously, Lathan was Superintendent of Peoria School District 150 (Ill.) 150, which had 14,000 students, from 2010 to 2015. She was also Acting Superintendent in the San Diego Unified Public Schools, where she was the first to attend. former Superintendent HISD, Terry Grier, spent 18 months as Superintendent. , having served the same district as an Elementary School Improvement Officer. She has also been a teacher and principal in schools in North Carolina and Illinois.

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