The Takeover Tab: State-Imposed Superintendent Buyouts Cost School Districts Big Bucks
And, critics of TEA takeovers say, those costs are just the beginning of expenses that come with state intervention but without state recompense.
Josephine Lee
Josephine Lee is a staff writer at the Texas Observer covering education and labor. She has previously worked as an educator and community organizer. Her reporting has been featured in Salon, The Daily Beast, Truthout, and other outlets. She was raised and lives in Houston.
Articles by Josephine Lee
In Congress, Christian Menefee Says He’s Fighting for ‘the Least, the Last, and the Lost’
The latest politician to represent H-Town’s historic 18th Congressional District talks about his recent primary against Al Green, ICE, voting rights, and the U.S. Senate race.
In Texas Schools, a Crisis of Arrests of Kids as Young as 10
A groundbreaking data analysis shows how districts across the state are arresting and citing children for common misbehavior, leaving lasting trauma as the Legislature rejects bills to raise the age of criminal responsibility and floods schools with even more police.
School Closures Are Escalating Across Texas. ‘It’s Not a Local Failure.’
State funding and policy have fallen short, advocates say, and the consequences are not confined to your backyard.
Will New School District Takeovers Follow the Model—and ‘Chaos’—of Houston ISD?
The state education agency took over four additional districts this spring, installing leaders linked to Houston’s state-imposed superintendent, Mike Miles, including two who worked for his former charter school network.
In Diverse Southwest Houston, Longtime Incumbent Hubert Vo Forced into Runoff Row
After 20 years in office, opponents say he’s become out of touch and absent. Now, he must survive a runoff against Alief school board member Darlene Breaux.
As Contract Negotiations Drag On, Texas Starbucks Workers Have Learned the Power of Organizing
“We have an in everywhere. It's not hard to talk to other people that do the same thing that you do on a daily basis, and oftentimes they have the same grievances that you do."
Mike Miles Cancels Moonlighting Contract with His Former Charter School Network
Houston ISD says its state-appointed superintendent has ended a paid agreement with Third Future Schools, after the Observer obtained the contract and requested comment. A 2025 state law restricts moonlighting by superintendents.
Mike Miles’ Former Charter School Network Expands Its Footprint in Texas
Some school district leaders say they believed they had only one option for a partnership to avoid state takeover.
Can Labor Candidates Help Texas Dems Win Back Power?
A slate of union-affiliated candidates are taking the labor movement on the campaign trail up and down the ballot.