Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a response we received from Superintendent Miles through the HISD press office this morning in which he denied the points made in the Spectrum News investigation.
Also added: a statement Miles made later in the day to the HISD Board of Managers.
Houston’s Community Voice for Public Education is calling for a federal investigation into Houston ISD Mike Miles’ operation of his Third Future Schools charter operation, following a report from Spectrum News alleging he has spent millions of dollars in Texas taxpayer money to prop up his charter school operation in Colorado.
The report by reporter Brett Shipp questions what it says has been Miles’ movement of money across state lines from charter schools in Texas to those in Colorado. It includes copies of two checks of more than $1 million each from the Odessa charter school to Third Future Schools in Aurora, Colorado.Former HISD teacher and CVPE cofounder Ruth Kravetz called the report a “bombshell investigation.”
“Greg Abbott opened the door to this type of fraud by installing an unelected board of managers and putting Mike Miles in charge of our schools. We’ve warned for years that laundering taxpayer dollars and giving it to private schools was part of their plan, and now we have the receipts to prove it. This scheme goes beyond bad policy or governance, it’s corruption and we’re calling for a federal investigation into this scheme along with the immediate resignation of Miles. Houston deserves a public education system run by competent, democratically elected representatives who share our values and are in it for the right reasons. We won’t stop fighting until that happens,” Kravetz said in a public statement.
In addition, Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson also issued a statement calling for Miles’ resignation.
“Just days after learning that Mike Miles is laying off hundreds of custodians, librarians and removing popular principals from our schools, we are now learning that he’s treating our public school system as his own personal piggy bank,” said Jackie Anderson. “The diversion of Texas public funds to shore up his private charter school company in Colorado is an outrageous betrayal of trust and requires a federal criminal investigation. The corruption of this deal stretches beyond just Mike Miles – the board of managers is also complicit in this shadowy scheme by failing to provide oversight and transparency. Greg Abbott’s takeover of our schools has failed. Teachers, students and their families deserve better and in response we are demanding the immediate resignation of Mike Miles and the immediate exit of the TEA from HISD.”
We reached out to Miles through the HISD press office and will update this story if we receive a response.
Miles response 5-15-24:
Friends, Partners, and Board Members:
I had initially planned not to respond to an article circulating that badly misunderstands, or worse, intentionally misrepresents the financial practices of Third Future Schools. While I have not worked at the Third Future Schools network for more than a year, I find the piece irresponsibly inaccurate, and I cannot let this kind of misinformation go uncorrected.
I have an obligation to make very clear that during my tenure Third Future Schools was always a responsible steward of every public dollar received, all financial agreements and obligations were approved by local boards of directors, authorizers, and in our Texas schools, the school district with which TFS partnered. Eight different districts in three states have trusted Third Future Schools with the education of their most underserved students and have overseen TFS’s overall financial health and propriety. Third Future Schools has a consistent track record of clean audits year over year, and I have no reason to believe that is any different now. These baseless claims cheapen the hard work and dedication of thousands of staff and students.
The budgets of all Third Future Schools in Texas are attached to the management agreement with the local school district and are part of the approval process. Administrative fees are applied to all schools in all states in order for the central office to oversee and monitor the schools as well as provide network-wide supports (such as finance and human resources) from people and departments in the central office, which is located in Colorado. This is common practice for charters and other independent partnership schools and is not only allowed, but anticipated by Texas’ education law. Spectrum News either intentionally or, through gross incompetence, mischaracterized these common place financial arrangements between charter schools and the charter management organizations that support them.
The Spectrum News reporter also worked to undermine the progress we made in Dallas ISD. It appears he is resurrecting old tactics that are not worth more time and attention. I do not intend to comment further on these spurious assertions. I am committed to staying focused on the tremendous challenge of improving Texas’ largest district.
We have an obligation to finish the year strong for our students and staff, and that is where I will direct my time and attention. I thank you for your partnership and ask that you do the same as we look ahead to the 24-25 school year and beyond. We’ve accomplished a great deal and there is even more left to do.
Miles also issued this statement later in the day to the HISD Board of Managers:
I wanted to alert you to remarks I made earlier today during a Houston Chronicle subscriber event.
When asked a question about the assertions in the Spectrum report, I said publicly that I welcome a TEA investigation into this matter. There is no wrongdoing and not even a specific allegation of wrongdoing. The report was riddled with errors and does not accurately capture the relationship between charter management organization and the schools and districts they support. These contractual relationships, where districts pay charter networks to manage and improve their schools are both legal and commonplace, and if a TEA investigation into these issues provides greater clarity for the HISD community then I believe it is a positive next step.
Following his tenure as the Dallas ISD superintendent, Miles’ charter company opened three charter schools in Colorado, one of which had to close because of financial difficulties. When he extended his charter to Texas, it had to be registered separately as Third Future – Texas under Texas regulations.
Third Future has Texas schools in Odessa, Beaumont, Midland, Austin and Jasper as part of the ISDs there. All are part of the local public school districts. Miles has consistently denied any intention to set up charter schools in Houston.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis chimed in with a statement of his own in reaction to the Spectrum News report.
“I’m shocked by what I saw in one news report regarding allegations concerning state-imposed HISD Superintendent Mike Miles. This also calls into question every dollar he has spent as superintendent. While teacher benefits are being slashed, libraries are being closed, and support staff are being let go, HISD parents and taxpayers deserve a robust and timely investigation to ensure that tax dollars are being used appropriately and ethically. This is especially true at a time when the district is under the direct control of the State and not accountable to a locally elected board.”
According to its website, Spectrum News is the brand for a slate of cable news television channels owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
