The roles are critical because managers in these offices supervise principals and make decisions that campus leaders and teachers must carry out in schools.
HISD will divide oversight among four offices: elementary and secondary schools in the New Education System reform model and elementary and secondary schools outside of it. Records show principals may report to these administrators in the new structure. The overhaul also appears to eliminate positions in HISD’s former north, central, west and south divisions, replacing oversight by geography with oversight by school type.
HISD has been in a state of continuous change since the Texas Education Agency took over the district and appointed new leadership in June 2023. One of state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles’ first decisions was to cut central office positions — many of which, he said, were vacant — and to model the district’s organization after the U.S. State Department and military.
The latest reorganization, which is still ongoing, comes after several of the district’s top leaders left to run school districts under new state takeovers. The district did not explain its reasoning or answer questions about the restructuring.
The four new offices are NES Elementary; NES Secondary; EAS Elementary; and EAS Secondary. HISD did not answer questions about why this overhaul occurred and to what extent the previous area division offices will remain. The new offices’ leaders appear to be deputy chiefs of schools, reporting to a new district chief of schools.
HISD has promoted new deputy chiefs into these new offices. June records listed four new deputy chiefs of schools and one new “deputy chief of schools operations.” HISD did not answer questions about the responsibilities of those deputy chiefs.
It is unclear what this means for the two remaining area division chiefs — Imelda De La Guardia of the south division and Daniel Girard of the north division — and the former deputy chief of schools for non-NES campuses is still listed in that role. In all, there are eight deputy chiefs of schools and schools operations and area division chiefs. HISD did not respond to clarifying questions on leadership.
These leaders all earn $200,000 or more. Overall, the number of employees earning more than $200,000 has increased since the takeover began. Many of these positions were created or expanded as Miles reshaped the district’s central office.
In the 2021-22 school year — the first year under former Superintendent Millard House II and while HISD’s elected board still had authority — only three HISD employees made over $200,000. In House’s second year, that number increased to 12.