HISD Superintendent says district "might be currently in the midst of a storm."

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In what would be the understatement of the year, HISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan admitted the district "might be currently in the midst of a storm."

HISD is in court fighting state take-over for academic reasons as questions about school safety linger, following a deadly school shooting in January. The FBI is apparently investigating the district or its chief operating officer, and not to mention the spreading coronavirus and its effect on schools.

In the address, Lathan offered few specifics on how HISD, the state's largest school district with 210,000 students, will address any of the issues above. She called this a "new day" for HISD promising a great working relationship with the first-ever all female Board of Trustees. She called the Board and herself, a "team of 10."

Lathan laid out a favorable review of HISD's recent successes, announcing its expansion of secondary magnet programs, the International Baccalaureate program and of wrap-around services. It also announced its new computer science academy and that the district has asked for scholarship aid from the business community.

On school safety, Lathan told an audience of hundreds of HISD staff members and Houston business leaders, "Together we can make schools safer."

She urged parents to restrict children's access to firearms and students to put "If You See Something, Say Something" into action.

A day after sitting silently in the face of direct questioning from ABC13 on the FBI investigation, Lathan said, "We're reviewing all of our procedures. We are cooperating, but there are also details that we cannot share as it relates to an ongoing investigation. I'm just saying to you that we reviewed our processes."

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