Demonstrators showed up outside Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles' home on Wednesday armed with chalk, singing a wave-goodbye song and scrawling messages like “Time is up, Mike” on his driveway. The gathering came one day after Gina Hinojosa was announced as Texas governor-elect, a result that has HISD critics counting down the days until Miles' exit from the district he has run since the state took it over in 2023.
According to a search-result snippet from Chron, the demonstrators were eager to celebrate what they hope is a new direction for Texas after Democrats flipped the governor's mansion and a U.S. Senate seat. Chalk drawings outside Miles' home also read “manipulate these numbers,” “now exit swiftly” and “don't mess with Texas,” and demonstrators posted photos of the scene in the Facebook group Supporters of HISD Magnets and Budget Accountability.
Some who turned out viewed Greg Abbott's defeat as a repudiation of both the takeover and Miles' leadership. Hinojosa campaigned on stopping state takeovers of school districts and firing Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, according to the Houston Chronicle. She has said she would fire Morath on her first day in office and has outlined plans for sweeping changes at the Texas Education Agency, while also saying schools would remain under local control and would not be shuttered or suffocated.
What Hinojosa Can and Cannot Do
As governor, Hinojosa would have the power to appoint and remove the education commissioner, but any new appointee would need approval from the Republican-dominated State Senate, the Houston Chronicle reports. Texas state law prevents the governor from ending state interventions outright, and the commissioner retains discretion over how takeovers happen and what criteria a district must meet to exit one. The same outlet's reporting notes that Hinojosa has not explicitly said what she plans to do with Miles himself, even as many expect her to accelerate the timeline for his departure.
Miles remains HISD's state-appointed superintendent unless he is terminated or resigns under his contract's procedures. The Houston Chronicle reports his contract runs through June 2030, and removing him without good cause could entitle him to a payout of up to $924,000 along with annual benefits. HISD's elected trustees currently have no authority under the state intervention, with Miles and a state-appointed board of managers having led the district since the takeover began in 2023.
The Benchmarks Standing in the Way
Morath has set three benchmarks HISD must meet to regain local control, per the Houston Chronicle: the district cannot have any schools with two consecutive years of D or F ratings, it must improve board governance, and it must bring its special education department into full compliance with state and federal law. A separate Houston Chronicle explainer on how state takeovers work notes that the Texas Education Agency decides case by case what districts must achieve to regain local control, calling the criteria highly discretionary.
HISD's takeover has drawn fierce opposition from families and educators even as it has produced higher test scores, the Houston Chronicle reports. Miles has pointed to improved ratings as evidence the intervention is working: he said the number of D- or F-rated schools fell from 121 in 2023 to 13 by 2026, while A- and B-rated schools rose from 93 to 205 over the same period, according to a separate Chron report. Miles has also said the state intervention could officially end at the close of the 2026-27 school year, though the commissioner would determine the actual end date and any transition period.
Chron reported it reached out to HISD and Miles for comment on Wednesday's demonstration.
