Newly released emails and internal records show Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles played a hands-on role in connecting a Texas charter school network with a private consulting firm on a deal worth nearly $950,000. The setup included his direct coaching of charter leaders and free access to HISD-created English and math curricula, a mix that has elected trustees and governance experts calling for a closer examination of how it all unfolded.
Records And Emails Show Miles' Role
Email records reviewed by reporters show that Miles used his personal Gmail account to send a proposal that outlined Education Partners' fees and an implementation timeline. In one email, as the consultant's proposed budget climbed, Miles wrote, "I'll get out of the middle soon," while steering the parties on where contract paperwork should be sent. The involvement and wording are documented in the Houston Chronicle.
Deal Details, Training And Who's Involved
Records show International Leadership of Texas, a Richardson-based charter network, agreed to pay Education Partners $950,000 for support in replicating HISD's New Education System. Consultants also recommended additional investments that could push total costs over $1.5 million.
Education Partners is led by Dwight Jones, who also serves as corporate board president of Third Future Schools, the charter network Miles helped found. On July 17, Miles trained roughly 45 ILTexas leaders at the charter network's Richardson headquarters, and district records indicate he used personal leave for that work.
HISD officials and ILTexas representatives say no money changed hands for the district curriculum itself and that Miles did not receive personal payment for brokering introductions between the charter and the consulting firm. Even so, at least three elected HISD trustees have publicly called for an outside review. Trustee Maria Benzon has said the board "should hire an outside firm to investigate whether laws were broken and who else might be involved." These details are reported by the Houston Chronicle.
Procurement Questions And Past Oversight Issues
The controversy arises as HISD is still grappling with broader procurement and oversight concerns. Last year, the board retroactively approved roughly $870 million in purchasing agreements after what district leaders described as administrative errors, a move that left trustees and community watchdogs wary of how closely the district tracks major contracts.
That recent history has sharpened sensitivities around any outside arrangements that involve HISD-developed materials or could be perceived as blurring the line between public assets and private deals, according to reporting from Community Impact.
Legal And Contract Questions
According to records, Miles' employment contract with HISD bars him from performing paid consulting for outside entities without prior school board approval, while still allowing certain advisory or pro bono work. Education policy experts who spoke with reporters say the district's choice to share proprietary curriculum without a formal licensing agreement is unusual and could be worth an independent review to confirm everything stayed within legal guardrails.
The statutory framework for superintendent contracts and board oversight in Texas is laid out in the state education code. For the general rules that typically govern superintendent agreements, see the Texas Education Code.
Trustees have several tools at their disposal, including ordering an independent review, requesting more records, or calling a formal hearing. Upcoming public board meetings are expected to be the main stage for any next steps. For no,w the episode highlights the friction between Miles's effort to extend HISD's model beyond district borders and the procedural safeguards designed to protect public resources and public trust.
