‘It’s Time for a Change’: Dem Behind HISD Takeover Faces Challengers

Despite public outcry, Texas House Representative Harold Dutton Jr. isn’t sorry he opened the door to the state takeover of the Houston Independent School District. In fact, he’s proud of it. 

“Some people mistakenly believe that the idea first came from Gov. Greg Abbott or some other Republican. But in fact, it came from me, a Democrat,” Dutton wrote in an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle back in March when the state first announced its decision to take over the district, oust its elected board, and install an unelected board of managers and superintendent. 

But since the state installed Mike Miles as superintendent of the district, chaos and disruption have only grown: At least 58 principals have left or been removed; more than 600 teachers have resigned—twice the number compared to each of the following two school years after the pandemic; and hundreds of students have been walking out of the classroom chanting, “School feels like a prison.”  

Community members and public education advocates upset at the takeover’s repercussions and Dutton’s record of voting against the party are now throwing their support behind Dutton’s opponent in the election for state representative for District 142, an area that covers the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens neighborhood in Houston as well as Humble and Sheldon. Danny Norris, a lawyer and former Harris County Department of Education trustee, has picked up the endorsements of public education advocates, labor unions, and Black and Latino Democrats, among others. Clint Horn, a pastor from Humble, told the Texas Observer he is also running to return control of the school district to the local community. Dutton did not respond to the Observer’s request for an interview.

“People aren’t happy that Dutton pushed the takeover. The fallout has been like a big snowball effect. Every week, there are more and more problems,” said Kathy Blueford-Daniels, a former elected district trustee. 

Since 2015, Dutton’s legislative efforts have paved the way to bolster the state’s power to take over local school districts. That year, Dutton authored House Bill 1842, allowing the state education agency to take over a school district if a single school in the district did not meet state accountability standards for five consecutive years. After 2019, when the Texas Supreme Court issued an injunction to block the state from taking over the Houston school district, Dutton worked with Senate Republican Paul Bettencourt in 2021 to sponsor and pass Senate Bill 1365, which endowed the state education commissioner with “final and unappealable power” to take over local school districts, clearing the way for the Texas Supreme Court to greenlight the state’s move to seize control of Houston’s schools last year. 

Like Dutton, Daniels graduated from Wheatley High School in the Fifth Ward, the school whose performance the state cited as the reason for the takeover. But Daniels, who is still involved with the school community, said Wheatley had been making progress and was meeting state standards at the time of the takeover. She said it has only made problems worse and cited the loss of wraparound services to meet the basic needs of the predominantly low-income students of color in the neighborhood as well as the influx of uncertified teachers in the district. 

Norris said he admires Dutton’s commitment to his alma mater and agreed the schools in the community need improvement. But he said handing control of the district to Governor Greg Abbott, who is attempting to privatize public education—in part by trying to push through a voucher system—is having the opposite effect. 

“Dutton’s explanation is that he felt the need to hold a gun to the school district’s head. The issue is that now they’ve given the gun to the state education commissioner, who is appointed by Greg Abbott. I don’t think people in the district want that gun in the hands of Greg Abbott,” Norris said. 

In his 40 years in office, Dutton has been long known to buck the party line. In 2021, he voted with Republicans to allow Texans to openly carry handguns without permits. That same year, he supported and then revived a bill that would restrict which teams transgender student-athletes could join and then banded with Republicans on the floor to vote on a voter suppression bill, while other Democrats walked out in protest. 

Like another persona non grata among state Democrats, District 146 Representative Shawn Thierry, in the last legislative session Dutton voted for charter school expansion, school library book bans, and to deny gender-affirming care to transgender teens. Thierry drew public censure from Texas Democrats when she vocalized her support of the healthcare ban with a 12-minute speech on the house floor, arguing she was voting for Black constituents in her district. 

“I’m really uncomfortable with Black folks being used as an excuse in that way. We’re not a monolith. Black trans people do exist. And as a good Democrat, there is always an opportunity to educate your community, your constituents and explain why this is not the right way,” said Lauren Ashley Simmons who said she decided to run against Thierry after feeling let down by her representative. 

To fund their campaigns, both Dutton and Thierry have turned to right-wing PACs like the Family Empowerment Coalition, largely financed by Christian nationalist activists like tech billionaires Darwin and Doug Deason and Stacy Hock, a board member of the far-right Texas Public Policy Foundation.  Last October, the Texas Ethics Commission found Dutton guilty of violating election laws in 2020 when he failed to disclose in-kind contributions, including some from the Texas Federation for Children, the Texas arm of former Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ American Federation for Children, which has financed pro-school privatization campaigns across the country. 

“We’re not used to seeing competitive races in either of these districts. We are seeing strong polarization in both parties, so deviating from the party line has potentially serious ramifications in elections for Democrats as well as for Republicans. Now, both of these incumbents are battling for their political lives because they’re working with the Republicans on high-profile issues,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston. 

Simmons, a longtime labor organizer who gained popularity when a video of her condemning Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles went viral on social media, has gained a broad base of endorsements from Democratic leaders and progressive organizations. Norris has picked up the support of the state and local teachers union, Black and Latino Democrats, and other progressive organizations, but Rottinghaus says Norris has a “more uphill battle” than Simmons whose campaign, he says, is better funded. 

Norris says the problems constituents face in District 142 have gone on for too long. Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens are among Harris County’s poorest neighborhoods, facing constant flooding and pervasive food deserts. According to a 2019 study, the area has the lowest life expectancy in the county. Fifth Ward residents have a higher risk for cancer and children have a higher risk of leukemia due to leftover railyard contamination. Opponents say that they haven’t seen much change to address these problems since Dutton’s been in office. 

“It’s time for change. It’s time for someone new,” Norris said.

Correction, February 22, 2024: A previous version of this story misspelt Clint Horn’s name. The Observer apologizes for the error.