State takeovers of school districts under fire: 'Like you're being strangled'

When you get rid of the librarian and close the library, you don't care about the children and do not have any good intentions for them.

Sounds the same as gerrymandering. Increase the opportunity of some to deny the opportunity of others.

As a teacher, I knew what my students needed to be successful. It's sad when people who have never worked in a classroom (or who haven't worked in a classroom in a long time or haven't worked in a rough school) try to make decisions for teachers about what they should be doing to improve things. What many of these schools need is more support and better resources, not more control and micromanagement.

No one on one interaction with students?! What in the WORLD is HAPPENING?! Kids need one on one time with teachers! Everyone knows this!

Former teacher here. States don’t take over school districts over academics. They only do it for money reasons. Superintendent contracts are for several years, so when there is a school board that keeps replacing them for political or ego reasons then the past superintendents keep getting paid even if they no longer have the job. I know of one financially struggling district that was paying over a million a year just for fired superintendent salaries. Then there are the food programs. Millions of dollars pass hands even in the poorest schools but if the administration doesn’t file the paperwork correctly it can cost a district more than their budget for teacher salaries, and many districts NEVER file the paperwork correctly. These are the reasons states take over districts. States don’t expect or demand kids in public education learn anything which is why so many graduates with high GPAs but can’t read or do mathematics above a third grade level.

I will always have a problem with anyone shutting down a library at a school. Growing up in school that's how I found my love for history and science because I had questions and would go to that school library to get them. This doesn't help anyone especially the kids when you do that.

I live in Houston and have a child in HISD. My child is in a high preforming school. Of all the parents I speak with, I cannot find one that has anything nice to say about Mike Miles or think the state takeover was a good thing.

I am not a parent, just a former student here in NEW YORK. Teaching students to read, and write our English language is difficult, it is IMPOSSIBLE when you eliminate books in the students hands. I work in technology, my career depends on technology but that doesn’t mean technology can teach these kids how to read, add, or do any other basic skills.

This is the same guy accused of sending funds to his charter schools in Colorado. Taking tax payer funds in that district in Texas and sending those funds to Colorado. That is illegal.

These school districts have everyone else except actual teachers to write the curriculum.

Isn't this dude under investigation for sending school funds from a state to another?

TEA hired someone with a failed track record.

1. Those who don't teach, have no business making decisions about teaching. 2. Standardized testing needs to go. 3. Leave us alone and let.us.teach! 4. This is why I home school.

In an area of the country that preaches government overreach and limited government , this seems downright Orwellian

Get rid of standardized testing, and teach the children. Build their strengths and fix what skills they are lacking.

I was surprised there was no mention of allegations that taxpayers dollars are going to Colorado charter schools. Isn't that and the massive layoffs of seasoned educators important issues to report to viewers?

I love the kids at the beginning wanting to read!

That poor school librarian, trying to help the kids out with a bus full of free books since she isn’t allowed in the schools anymore… 😓

8hrs of school and no one on one interactions definitely not thinking about the children

$ is very important, because teachers and school staff need to be able to survive without working two jobs. However all the new curriculum etc etc etc is a bandaid on a missing limb.. Children need strong families, security of housing and food and parents who aren't being worked to death just to pay rent. Greed is destroying America. To save it, we need to invest in families, in people not corporations