Whitmire Should Use Relationships With State To Restore HISD Wraparound Funds-$33 Billion State Surplus

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Houston ISD is cutting and gutting essential services for students living with poverty. 

From the Houston Landing:

Houston ISD will eliminate many of the specialists who work on school campuses to serve students struggling with poverty-related issue...HISD Executive Director of Student Supports Phuong Tieu delivered the news to roughly 170 district staff during a virtual meeting Thursday morning, saying their roles will be cut at the end of June due to budget constraints, according to a video recording of the meeting obtained by the Houston Landing and information from attendees...The decision represents a reversal from Superintendent Mike Miles, who previously told the Landing the wraparound specialists were needed positions in HISD and would not be subject to staffing cuts. “The needs of our kids in the social emotional area, and in the mental health area, and just health area, is not going to diminish over the next several years,” Miles said in December. “I don’t know if it will ever diminish, but it certainly won’t in the next several years. So, it would not be appropriate to decrease services at this time.” HISD serves roughly 150,000 economically disadvantaged students, and roughly 7,000 who are homeless.

Does the rubber stamp Board of Managers of our state-occupied school district have any views on these cuts? We rarely hear from them.  

(Community Voices for Public Education has been leading the fight against the takeover.)

John Whitmire ran for Mayor talking about his strong relations with statewide Republicans. Texas has a $33 billion budget surplus. The State of Texas runs HISD. Why can't Mayor Whitmire get the state to give HISD the needed funds to keep these important programs going?   

(Above is Mayor Whitmire with friends such as Governor Abbott & Senator Bettencourt.)   

Mayor Whitmire brought far-rightwing Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham to Houston City Council. Commissioner Buckingham said Houston could get the housing money we should be getting anyway, so long as we look the other way at her support for people like Donald Trump who would take our freedoms.
  
Mayor Whitmire teams up with Republican election-denier Alexandra Mealer, as she uses her place on the Metro Board to get political revenge on advocates of safer streets and bike lanes.    

Mayor Whitmire has been silent as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to stop the Harris County Basic Income program. 

In addition to talking about how the city must work with the state, Mayor Whitmire has said the city must also work with HISD Superintendent Mike Miles.

Here is an opportunity to put these words into action. Mayor Whitmire should lobby the Republican state elected officials he gets along with so well, to provide the funds to restore wraparound services for Houston school kids.  

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