What's in HISD superintendent Richard Carranza's contract?

Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Breaking down HISD superintendent's contract
By the numbers, there is a big difference between HISD and NYC's department of education.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza signed his three-year contract in front of the board of education and a mariachi band.

That was a year and a half ago on August 18, 2016.

Now that the superintendent is getting out of that contract, ABC13 Investigates wanted to know what, if anything, the contract said about this very situation.

READ THE CONTRACT: ABC13 obtained a copy of Carranza's contract

In the end, there's very little that would keep him here. No money to repay if he leaves early. No penalty of any kind.

Carranza didn't hide his contempt for Texas' education funding system in his remarks Monday.

"In the State of Texas, unfortunately, it is not a well-funded system," Carranza said. "In that school district, we started January with a $206 million cut to the budget - which is 10% of the operating budget - and it is whittled down to a mere $115 million."

Facing his second consecutive year of massive cuts, Carranza cut and ran.

Comparing the two districts, HISD and the New York City school system is hard to do.

HISD has 284 campuses. NYC has 1,800.

HISD has 215,408 students. NYC has 1,038,727.

HISD's budget is $2 billion. NYC's is $30 billion.

The one thing that stays the same: Carranza's pay. He made $345,000 at HISD and will make the same in NYC.

When the New York press noted his short time in Houston, Carranza pointed out he spent far longer in Arizona and San Francisco, adding New York is a dream job for him.

"I am not a school district jumper. I spent time in the places I have been."

Have a tip for Ted Oberg? A problem to solve? Get in touch with us on our tip page, or send a tip below. (On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)