Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles has been making significant changes in the district as it prepares for the upcoming academic year. Last Friday, he announced that nearly 600 positions would be cut from the district's central office staff, in a move aimed at streamlining operations and reducing expenditures.

Miles is also implementing a "New Education System" (NES) in the district, with a total of 85 schools undergoing reforms this school year. The schools in the program will experience sweeping changes, including the use of premade lesson plans and class materials provided by the district, increased teacher support staff, and higher teacher salaries. Teachers and principals at the original 28 NES schools had to reapply for their positions for the coming school year, ensuring a dedicated and motivated staff.

The decision to cut jobs in the central office was driven by the need to align staffing with student enrollment, which had declined by about 27,000 over the past six years. Miles aims to achieve his goals for the district, such as the implementation of the NES and a greater emphasis on testing-based performance evaluations, even with a smaller staff.

In the process of these layoffs, department heads were tasked with examining vacancies and determining if positions needed to be filled or could be eliminated. New organizational charts were created, and existing staff members were considered for newly created roles. Employees whose jobs were being eliminated were given the opportunity to apply for other open positions within HISD.

In addition to the central office staff cuts, Superintendent Miles has removed the principals from Jack Yates, Worthing, and Sharpstown high schools. These changes reflect his commitment to making significant reforms in the district and ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to improve education for all students.