Slashing the number of teachers and cutting the budget in the wrong places are behind growing discontent with the direction of the Houston Independent School District, according to a public-opinion survey.
Parents who believe HISD is strongly or somewhat on the right track plunged to 54 percent this year from 79 percent in 2009, showed a survey conducted by Creative Consumer Research based in Stafford, Texas. Among the general population, those numbers dropped to 44 percent from 58 percent.
The survey identified parents as particularly upset about teacher layoffs, with 48 percent saying that is the No. 1 reason why the district is on the wrong track. Among the general population, that number was 27 percent.
“At the time of the survey, HISD was in the process of laying off 724 teachers,” according to an HISD news release. “Since then, at least 312 of those teachers have been rehired into new positions.”
Reducing the district's $1.6 billion budget in the wrong places ranked second among parents and the general population at 18 percent.
Satisfaction with the school board has dropped slightly among both groups since 2007. Four years ago and in 2009, 69 percent of parents said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the trustees. This year that number was 67 percent. In 2007, 55 percent of the general population said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the board. This year that number dipped to 51 percent.
Dissatisfaction with the superintendent has increased under Terry Grier, who began in September 2009. Abelardo Saavedra headed HISD in 2007, when 70 percent of parents said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the superintendent. This year that number sunk to 58 percent. The feeling among the general population followed a similar track, falling to 47 percent this year from 57 percent in 2007.
HISD paid Creative Consumer Research $39,000 to do the poll – the same amount it cost in 2009, said HISD spokesman Jason Spencer.
Researchers conducted telephone interviews with 1,317 people in the district – including 305 HISD parents, according to the methodology provided by Creative Consumer Research.
District officials began taking the survey in 2007 and mandated that it be done every two years, Spencer said.
The survey identified parents as particularly upset about teacher layoffs, with 48 percent saying that is the No. 1 reason why the district is on the wrong track. Among the general population, that number was 27 percent.
“At the time of the survey, HISD was in the process of laying off 724 teachers,” according to an HISD news release. “Since then, at least 312 of those teachers have been rehired into new positions.”
Reducing the district's $1.6 billion budget in the wrong places ranked second among parents and the general population at 18 percent.
Satisfaction with the school board has dropped slightly among both groups since 2007. Four years ago and in 2009, 69 percent of parents said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the trustees. This year that number was 67 percent. In 2007, 55 percent of the general population said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the board. This year that number dipped to 51 percent.
Dissatisfaction with the superintendent has increased under Terry Grier, who began in September 2009. Abelardo Saavedra headed HISD in 2007, when 70 percent of parents said they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the superintendent. This year that number sunk to 58 percent. The feeling among the general population followed a similar track, falling to 47 percent this year from 57 percent in 2007.
HISD paid Creative Consumer Research $39,000 to do the poll – the same amount it cost in 2009, said HISD spokesman Jason Spencer.
Researchers conducted telephone interviews with 1,317 people in the district – including 305 HISD parents, according to the methodology provided by Creative Consumer Research.
District officials began taking the survey in 2007 and mandated that it be done every two years, Spencer said.
***
Contact Mike Cronin at mike@texaswatchdog.org or 713-228-2850. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelccronin or @texaswatchdog.
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Photo of blackboard by flickr user Kapungo, used via a Creative Commons license.
Contact Mike Cronin at mike@texaswatchdog.org or 713-228-2850. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelccronin or @texaswatchdog.
Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feeds in your newsreader. We're also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, and tumblr.
Photo of blackboard by flickr user Kapungo, used via a Creative Commons license.
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