Colleen DeGuzman/Houston Public Media
Pictured is a hallway at River Oaks Elementary School, a Houston ISD campus.
Houston ISD and its largest teachers union will be back in court Thursday to continue disputing the district’s move to distribute state-funded raises based on performance rather than tenure.
The Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT) is seeking an injunction to prevent HISD from issuing performance-based raises to teachers and support staff as allocated in House Bill 2, parts of which took effect immediately after being passed by state lawmakers this year. Earlier this summer, the union attempted to stop the district by requesting a temporary restraining order against HISD. It was promptly denied by a judge.
The union argues the bill included $8.5 billion for the state’s public school system, nearly half of that earmarked for pay raises for teachers and support staff, and that the language directs raises to teachers based on years of experience and the size of their district. HISD argues that its performance-based pay increases are permitted by the law.
Jackie Anderson, the president of HFT, said the district is violating the bill by diverting across-the-board raises for teachers to the district’s new pay-for-performance compensation plan. This summer HISD teachers received some raises – tied to their evaluations as outlined by HISD’s new compensation plan, which set a cap of $2,500 per teacher with exemplary scores.
HB 2 allows for up to $5,000 raises for teachers in a district the size of Houston ISD – the largest district in the state – with at least five years of service.
“Our understanding was that the money was to help retain teachers and also give teacher raises that are very long overdue,” Anderson said.
The lawsuit is the latest dispute between the teachers union and HISD, which has implemented testing-focused instructional reforms and seen significant staffing turnover since it was taken over by the Texas Education Agency in 2023 – because Wheatley High School received a string of failing accountability ratings from the agency.
In court documents filed Aug. 20, HISD lawyers argued the union’s claim is “absurd,” the suit should be dismissed and the union knows “full well that HISD has not received the state funding for this salary increase and likely will not receive the state funding for several months.”
HISD stands apart from neighboring districts such as Cy-Fair, Fort Bend and Katy ISDs, which increased their teachers’ salaries based on experience.
In the 2025-2026 published compensation plan, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles promotes the pay-for-performance model, writing, “by prioritizing strategic staffing, performance assessment, and competitive pay, this plan honors our employees’ contributions and helps them best serve our students and families and in return make Houston stronger.”
‘I feel robbed’
An HISD teacher — who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation — told Houston Public Media that while they had low expectations of receiving the full $5,000, the reality was still a “big blow.”
“I could really use that money, and I knew perfectly well that that’s the money that was allotted so it’s not like the $2,500 is like, ‘Oh, yay, what a benefit.’ It’s more like I feel robbed,” they said.
When they started teaching more than two decades ago, their salary was $64,000. Today it’s a little over $75,000, the teacher said.
Despite being considered a high-performing teacher, they oppose the new pay-for-performance model, saying it undervalues classes that aren’t tied to state testing.
“I worked as hard and as many hours as the person next to me, and if my co-teacher and I are putting in the same number of hours and we’re working just as hard, I think we should be getting paid the same,” they said.
The teacher compared the compensation plan to a controversial program from a decade ago: the Education Value-Added Assessment System, or EVAAS. That system awarded bonuses to teachers with strong evaluations and could penalize those with poor ratings. After the Houston Federation of Teachers sued the district in 2014 over transparency and other concerns, HISD settled in 2017 and removed EVAAS.
A second teacher – who voiced similar retribution concerns and requested their name be withheld – told Houston Public Media they’ve worked in HISD for 18 years, received $750 as a raise and that it felt like a “slap in the face.”
They say their school caters to a more disadvantaged population and that the current evaluation model is “inadequate” for assessing teachers of these students. They’re a member of the union and hope the injunction will be awarded Thursday. They say they feel frustrated that the union has been “iced out” of meetings with the district.
“I don’t feel represented, but also know that it makes it harder for our union to fight for us, which is also I think the point of all of this for the district is to disempower the teachers,” they said.
After nearly two decades in education, the teacher is considering leaving the profession altogether, saying this has left a bad taste in their mouth.
“If this is the direction,” they added, “I’d rather not be a part of it.”
‘I don’t listen to the voices that are part of the problem’
At a school board meeting earlier this month, HISD removed language requiring Miles to meet with unions. Miles was previously expected to hold “consultations” four times per year with HISD’s multiple teachers unions, down from 2021 when they were expected to meet monthly. Now Miles can decide if and when he will personally meet with the unions.
At a news conference in early August, when asked about the consultation policy changes, Miles said he met with several advisory committees of principals and teachers and that he was going to continue working with those groups.
Dominic Anthony Walsh/Houston Public Media
Superintendent Mike Miles at a family event in August 2023. Many parents and teachers have criticized Miles’ changes to HISD.
Anderson said she continues to request consultations even though they have all been rejected or ignored. Anderson said Miles has not met with the union personally since 2023, adding that she believes all requests from the union to Miles fall on “deaf ears.”
In an appearance on Houston Public Media’s “Hello Houston” talk show this month, Miles didn’t mince words over the fraught relationship.
“The union leaders are extreme,” Miles said. “They have never said a positive thing. They have not celebrated our kids’ success. They bring no solution. So how do I parse that? I just don’t listen to the voices that are being part of the problem.”
Miles also noted in that interview that the unions receive disproportionate media attention, saying, “They represent less than 800 teachers out of 10,500,” adding that his estimate was generous.
HFT reports having approximately 4,000 members, including teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff from more than 270 campuses. It is the largest union in HISD, but membership has fallen dramatically in recent years.
Anderson argues that’s due to the high turnover in the district.
“[Miles] thinks he can minimize the number so he can say it’s just a few people, just a few people,” Anderson said. “No, it’s not just a few.”
Michelle Williams is the president of the Houston Education Association – a smaller union representing approximately 200 education professionals in HISD. She said their organization has also suffered membership decline because of the high turnover rates in the district.
“I’m going to be honest with you, the volatileness of the district [and] the constant churn of teachers causes our membership to fluctuate,” she said.
The Houston Education Association filed its own grievance against HISD in May for ignoring consultation requests. A lawyer representing the group says the district’s attorney rescheduled the grievance hearing several times. Williams said the hearing was finally conducted Wednesday, when the district’s attorney presented the new requirements passed by the board in August that no longer requires Miles to hold consultations.
A rally protesting the pay raises, organized by HFT, is scheduled for Wednesday night at HISD headquarters.