Houston ISD parent files complaint against administrator who made ‘dashboard’ remarks during meeting – Houston Public Media

A Houston ISD parent filed a formal complaint this week against a high-ranking district administrator who appeared to taunt community members by repeatedly saying “dashboard” during a recent school board meeting which has become controversial.

Camille Breaux, the mother of two Crockett Elementary School students who attended the June 13 meeting, accused North Division Superintendent Orlando Riddick of violating HISD employee standards of conduct by behaving in an unprofessional manner. She said Friday she was seeking a public apology from the district, which has had a tumultuous first year under state-appointed leadership.

Some community members leveled criticism while Superintendent Mike Miles made a presentation to the board on HISD’s improved performance on standardized test scores, prompting board President Audrey Momanaee to summon one of two brief suspensions. Riddick escalated the tension by repeating “dashboard” – in reference to the STAAR test results displayed on the screen – and was subsequently reprimanded by Breaux before another HISD employee approached Riddick and stopped him. escorted out of the room for a few minutes.

“Go ahead and clap,” Breaux told Riddick from across the meeting room. “That’s good. Be proud. I’m not against it. But you’re being extremely disrespectful. We’re parents.”

The HISD press office did not respond Friday to a request for an interview with Riddick or any of his supervisors. The district also did not respond to questions about Riddick’s tenure with HISD, the incident in question on its complaint handling protocol.

According to the public complaint form submitted by Breaux, which she shared with Houston Public Media, HISD employees who behave unprofessionally in the workplace are subject to disciplinary action “up to and including termination of employment.” Breaux did not seek such harsh punishment in her complaint, saying she wanted a formal report of the incident included in Riddick’s employee file.

Breaux said she has been attending HISD board meetings regularly since the start of the calendar year and has not seen or heard other district administrators make similar remarks from the audience. She said she felt “offended” by Riddick, who pointed at the screen as he left the room and made no comment after returning.

“I just thought it was really disgusting. I was really disgusted,” Breaux said Friday. “He goes to these meetings every month. He knows people are emotional. To have that reaction, and at that level of leadership, not being able to contain yourself and think that everything is okay at that moment. . is simply not acceptable.”

Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media

Riddick previously worked as a superintendent for Cedar Hill and Midland ISDs, according to his biography on the HISD website, which says he also held administrative positions in Austin and Dallas ISDs. He is currently one of four regional superintendents within HISD, the largest district in Texas.

Breaux said she believed Riddick’s comments on the “dashboard” last week reflected what she called a “culture of disdain” that has formed within HISD since Miles was appointed superintendent last summer by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who also replaced HISD’s nine elected trustees with a state trustee. -appointed board of directors. Morath stepped in due to a series of academic failures at Wheatley High School.

“It’s frustrating,” Breaux said. “There are three levels of leadership at HISD and none of them listen to parents. It’s Mike Miles, the board of trustees and executive leadership.”

Students, parents, teachers and community members opposed some of the reforms implemented under Miles, who oversaw widespread enrollment reductions in light of a budget shortfall, while expelling principals and popular teachers based on their performance. At Miles’ New Education System (NES) schools, a model that is expanding from 85 campuses this year to 130 next year, there are preset lesson plans and an increased emphasis on discipline-based assessments and testing .

Numerous protests took place at HISD schools toward the end of the school year, and parents such as Breaux regularly voiced criticism at school board meetings.

“I think teachers and parents have been held to a very high standard this year,” Breaux said. “As a community and as parents, we don’t even know what those standards are. There has been very little transparency.

“But here is a standard that is clear in black and white that (Riddick) is not held to,” she added. “I just felt like it was such disgusting behavior that I had to say something.”