Following skirmish, HISD trustees adjourn without partnership vote

Travis McGee, HISD parent and Sunnyside community activist, speaks to the audience after the Houston ISD board members immediately went into a closed executive session Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Trustees were scheduled to vote on whether to hand over control of 10 chronically low-performing schools to Energized For STEM Academy, which already runs four in-district HISD charters. Many of the large crowd attending the meeting are against the partnership. less Travis McGee, HISD parent and Sunnyside community activist, speaks to the audience after the Houston ISD board members immediately went into a closed executive session Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Trustees were ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Following skirmish, HISD trustees adjourn without partnership vote 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Houston ISD board members adjourned late Tuesday without voting on a controversial measure to give up control over 10 low-performing schools after the meeting turned physical and police escorted members of the public — nearly all of whom opposed the plan — out of the room.

Chanting "no more sellouts" and shouting at trustees, most of the roughly 100 community members in attendance watched angrily as officers began physically pulling disruptive residents out of the room. The skirmish came after HISD Board of Trustees President Rhonda Skillern-Jones declared a recess in the middle of the meeting and ordered the room cleared due to repeated public outbursts.

RELATED: HISD partnership proposal met with skepticism, questions

If trustees choose to meet again, they likely will not return until Saturday at the earliest. Trustees typically provide at least 72 hours advance notice of any public board meeting. The vote had been expected to be narrow, with several trustees already voicing support or opposition for the proposal.

The uproar reflects the heated nature of HISD’s proposal to allow Energized For STEM Academy Inc., which already runs four in-district charter schools, to take over operations of the 10 campuses for five years. Without the agreement, HISD would likely face forced campus closures or a state takeover of the district’s locally elected school board due to its failure to improve academics at the schools.

Here’s part 1 of a video interview with Jenny Espeseth, who I videoed being dragged out of HISD’s meeting. She has a 1st and 5th grader in the district. More of the interview on this thread pic.twitter.com/LKLYaetjbJ — Shelby Webb (@shelbywebb) April 25, 2018

HISD Interim Police Chief Paul Cordova said one person was arrested on a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge, one person was arrested on a charge of interfering with duties of a public servant and one person was detained but not arrested. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg dropped the charges Wednesday.

Jenny Espeseth, who said she has children in first and fifth grades in HISD, was dragged out of the board room by her arms and pulled into a hallway side room. She said police told her they intended to file a report, then released her.

"It felt like (Skillern-Jones) was waiting for a moment to order the room cleared," Espeseth said. "I don't think any of the trustees in favor of charter-ization want to vote in front of the public."

Members of the public were allowed to return for the brief ending of the meeting and watch from an overflow room, but many chose not to go back.

Travis McGee, a community advocate from Sunnyside with three children in HISD, said those advocating against charter agreements didn't want to "legitimize their vote."

"They put us out, and they don't want us in there," McGee said. "We don't want to give them the satisfaction of putting us in a side room."

EDITORIAL: HISD should vote no on charter takeover

In a statement, the district said attendees were instructed to clear the room after "continuous disruption," "multiple outbursts," and "several verbal requests" from Skillern-Jones to follow meeting rules.

"While the district appreciates and shares the passion the community has for the students and schools and welcomes public input, audience members are expected to be respectful and observe decorum so that their views may be heard and appreciated," HISD officials said.

Under a law passed in 2015, any school district with a campus that receives a fifth straight “improvement required” rating for poor academic performance this year would be subject to the sanctions. Ten HISD schools, all of which educate predominantly black and Hispanic student populations in high-poverty neighborhoods, risk triggering the law. HISD administrators have said it’s highly unlikely all 10 will meet state academic standards this year.latha

RELATED: HISD trustees clear path for quicker approval of charter partnerships

To avoid forced campus closures or a state takeover, HISD administrators proposed employing another law, this one passed in 2017, that would give HISD a two-year sanctions reprieve if it gives up control over the 10 schools to an outside organization. After several weeks of community meetings, HISD administrators recommended Energized For STEM Academy as their partner.

Trustees must approve any partnership agreements and submit plans to the state by April 30. Texas Education Agency officials are expected to approve or deny any arrangements by early June.

In the district’s first public statement since Energized For STEM Academy was named Friday as the potential partner, Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said the organization “will help our students to reach the level of achievement that we know is possible.”

Here’s part 1 of a video interview with Jenny Espeseth, who I videoed being dragged out of HISD’s meeting. She has a 1st and 5th grader in the district. More of the interview on this thread pic.twitter.com/LKLYaetjbJ — Shelby Webb (@shelbywebb) April 25, 2018

“Data shows Energized for STEM Academy has successfully led students to high levels of academic achievement as well as prepared them for college and careers since first partnering with HISD 10 years ago,” Lathan said in a statement. She has not granted any interview requests in recent days.

The choice, however, faced immediate resistance. Multiple trustees said they lacked enough information to properly evaluate Energized For STEM Academy’s academic and governance history.

Several education advocates and leaders, including the Houston Federation of Teachers, also raised several questions about Energized For STEM Academy’s ethics. They’ve particularly focused on Energized For STEM Academy’s head of schools, Lois Bullock, who serves as both employee and landlord at another in-district HISD charter organization. It’s not immediately clear whether Bullock has improperly profited off the highly unusual arrangement.

All speakers at Tuesday’s school board meeting opposed the district’s plan. Many advocated for suing the state over the 2015 law that imposed sanctions. Several questioned whether Energized For STEM Academy is dedicated to special education students, noting that the organization has a disproportionately low special education population at its current schools. A few students implored trustees to maintain current operations at their schools.

“We are asking you to do the right thing for this community,” speaker Kandice Webber, who was later among the two arrested, said during public comment. “If you choose to sell us out now, this will be the absolute last board you sit on.”

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Kandice Webber as the speaker during Tuesday's board meeting. It has also been updated to reflect charges were dropped against the two individuals arrested.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com

shelby.webb@chron.com