It’s hard to imagine how much more of a misstep the Houston ISD Board of Managers is prepared to make than its proposal floated Tuesday night that would severely curtail what members of the public could address the board about at meetings and would end Zoom calls into the monthly public meeting.
This from a board whose president Audrey Momanaee promised all sorts of increased communication from its nine members with the public after its $4.4 billion bond issue went down in flames in the November elections. Unless, of course, you consider communication a one-way street.
What were they thinking? Whose bright idea is this? Superintendent Mike Miles who often gets shelled at these meetings? Board Vice President Ric Campo who’s made public statements about his dislike of long meetings? Board members Janette Garza Lindner and Michelle Cruz Arnold who’ve pushed for more “decorum” at meetings?
Pulled from the agenda at the last minute, the measure would allow audience members to only talk about items that the un-elected Board of Managers has put on the agenda. It would end the so-called “Hearing of the Community” in which speakers have the chance to address the board about any district-related measure not on the agenda.
So, for instance, if members of the public wanted to bring up their continuing concerns about HISD students and rail lines by schools given this week’s death of a 15-year-old attempting to cross the tracks, well that wouldn’t be allowed.
Perhaps unnecessarily (if they do away with it), the revisions to board procedure also call for an end to the stipulation that the Hearing From the Community should begin no later than 7 p.m. Why is that important? Because previous boards had a handy policy of putting public comment last, filling the meeting with all sorts of things first, so by the time the community got a chance to speak, most of them had gone home.
The proposed changes remove the present policy of allowing students to go first in addressing the board, no matter what the subject matter. Instead their turn would be decided by whomever the board president is. Get a board president who really doesn’t want to hear from students, and you have another move that discourages input. Few, on a school night, can stay the course, only getting a chance to speak late into the night.
You have to wonder why these people even wanted to be on the board. Success in business is fine on a resume but in a public position, you have to be willing to hear from people and at least give the appearance of listening to them. Even if it is, at times, tedious as all get out and repetitive.
As for Zoom calls: yes, they are annoying when speakers can’t unclick the mute button or engage the video showing their face or begin the one-minute allotted to them asking “Can you hear me?” There is often a delay between when they are asked to start and their engagement. But this isn’t everyone. And as several speakers pointed out Tuesday night, for many people Zoom is the only way they can “attend” the meetings.
Victoria Fradette described herself as someone with a flexible work schedule enabling her to get to a 5 p.m. meeting using her own transportation, with a husband who can take care of their child while she attends the meeting. “By limiting the option to speak over Zoom you are silencing the voices of the people who do not.”
“I’m here to congratulate you all for doing what you have always done: and that is try to silence us. The more you try, the more people come out to speak,” Dr. Pamela Boveland told the board. “You want to silence speech.”
Or as MinhDan Tran told the board: “Let’s be honest. This is not about efficiency. It’s about silencing the community especially those who can’t be here in person. Not every parent, teacher or concerned citizen can fight through Houston traffic. Not everybody can leave work, find childcare or overcome physical limitations to come sit in this room. Zoom gave these voices a chance to be heard. Removing it shuts them out. Who are you afraid of?”
“This district belongs to all of us not just those of us privileged enough to be here.”
In fact, just 90 minutes before the board’s meeting Tuesday night, HISD invited local media to a Zoom meeting so that Alex Elizondo, Chief of Public Affairs and Communication, could make a statement and answer questions about the train track student fatality Monday. In fact, HISD communications department makes regular use of Zoom meetings, knowing that not everyone can arrive at Hattie Mae White at the drop of a hat.
And — drum roll please — Board member Michelle Cruz Arnold attended last night’s meeting by Zoom.
Another highlight of Tuesday night’s meeting and one that ties into this community engagement discussion was the arrival of the Rev, Richard Vega and his supporters to bring their pornographic-books-should-be-removed from the libraries tour to HISD.
As one after another of his congregation began reading aloud from books in very graphic terms, Momanaee let the first speaker go unchecked, while other members of the audience rose to their feet in outrage. Those critical of the board and Miles are often cautioned not to use any profanity and told repeatedly that “children are watching.” Apparently describing graphic sex scenes isn’t as bad as cursing. Momanaee told the speakers not to use “any cuss words” and then cautioned them about the children. She finally told parents of children present that they might want to leave the room and asked the speakers not to read any more of their excerpts. Viewers at home were left to their own discretion whether they wanted to listen.
Naturally, some audience members called out that this isn’t a problem in HISD because Miles has done away with librarians and books have been disappearing at an alarming rate.
When Vega’s group was done, members went out into the lobby, a shouting match broke out there between them and some audience members outraged about them holding up graphic pictures and the language they used. HISD police separated the sides and escorted Vega and his people out of the building.
(Another irony is, of course, that the people trying to shout down Vega’s group at the meeting are the same ones who say the board should listen to their points of view and let them speak unchecked. Democracy can be such a messy affair with all its contradictions, right?)
Many people in the community don’t trust HISD’s state-appointed board and superintendent. This latest move to disallow public comment on anything other than the board’s carefully crafted issues isn’t going to help. Whether the board finally makes these changes or not, there will always be the understanding that this is what they wanted to do.
Really, HISD meetings are one of the most entertaining games in town. It all would be so funny except, you know, when it kind of isn’t.
Shutting off conversation, in the interests of efficiency — and to avoid hearing things you don’t want to hear — reveals both a basic misunderstanding of public office and a breathtaking amount of arrogance.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
