Not everyone on board with HISD superintendent's plan to centralize district's budget

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Budget discussions continue at Houston ISD Thursday afternoon. It's all part of Superintendent Millard House II's five-year strategic plan to centralize a section of the district's budget because he believes that would make it more equitable for students.

However, not everyone was on board with that big shift.

The way it is being handled now is considered a de-centralized budget, where principals have a lot of say when it comes to what positions they hire for, what programs they have at their campus, and more.

Wednesday, House sent out a letter to the HISD community with a revised funding model that is a combination of how it is now and the model he was hoping to change it to.

They decided principals will still have the authority to make budget decisions based on the needs of their individual school, but there will be some key staff positions and certain services that will be required at each campus.

A lot of this discussion revolves around equity. Earlier this week, ABC13 spoke to HISD District 7 trustee Bridget Wade. Wade is of the opinion that the de-centralized model should continue, but with changes to make resources more equal across the schools.

"We've seen that through many studies that have happened over the years that say there are definitely troubling signs that we need to improve on, but I think closing that gap is very important and we all agree on that," Wade said. "We just need to do it in a way that doesn't subvert the plan that has been actually bearing fruit."

The budget discussion will continue at 2 p.m. Thursday at the administration building. It is open to the public, so if you want to comment, you need to sign up ahead of time.

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