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More than 500 positions will be cut from Houston Independent School District鈥檚 central office staff, the first round of staff downsizing that will further clear the way for new Superintendent Mike Miles鈥� plan to overhaul campuses across the district.

Miles has been vocal about trimming a central office he described as 鈥渂loated鈥� and 鈥渁morphous鈥� upon his appointment last month to run Houston ISD by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. But Friday鈥檚 announcement offered the first glimpse into which departments will be impacted by his plans.

Miles said about 500 to 600 positions will be cut from academics-related departments, along with 40 from human resources. More departments will be affected in the coming weeks, he said.

Miles estimated the cuts from academic departments total 30% of current positions, about 3% of which were already vacant.

鈥淩eorganizations are hard. There are real people behind the numbers,鈥� Miles said Friday. 鈥淲e want to make sure that we do this in a way that鈥檚 respectful but also in enough time for people to apply for other jobs.鈥�

Houston ISD had about 3,600 staff members classified as part of 鈥減rofessional support鈥� or 鈥渃entral administration鈥� in 2021-22, the most recent year with available state data. The district reported about 23,700 employees across Houston ISD.

District officials have begun notifying those affected by the first round of dismissals, which is expected to be complete by July 17, Miles said. More job cuts will impact communications, school leadership, operations, finance and professional development departments throughout the year.

鈥淭hose we didn鈥檛 want to disturb right now, because we鈥檙e actually in the middle of transporting kids [to] summer school and nutrition services,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e larger organizations and it takes more time to make sure we do it in a way that is sound.鈥�

For the initial round of cuts, department chiefs first assessed the feasibility of cutting vacant positions before moving to those filled. Employees affected by cuts can apply for vacant positions that have been retained, Miles said.

Members of Houston ISD鈥檚 newly appointed board voted unanimously last month to cut $30 million from the central office budget, which will help fund Miles鈥� plans for reshaping schools in the district. He , including 28 campuses 鈥� coined the 鈥淣ew Education System,鈥� or NES, schools 鈥� primarily located in the city鈥檚 low-income neighborhoods that will see immediate changes ahead of the next school year.

Miles鈥� plan for NES schools involves using large pay increases and stipends to attract highly rated teachers to low-performing schools. In addition, several principals have been replaced and job responsibilities will be restructured ahead of the school year.

Morath tapped Miles and nine new board members on June 1 and ousted the elected board. The punishment was largely tied to chronically poor academic ratings at Wheatley High School. Many community members and teachers and

But dozens of principals have signaled their interest in joining Miles鈥� plans ahead of schedule. Those who choose to of the NES program in the upcoming school year will see a more standardized curriculum, potential cuts to non-teaching staff and new employee evaluation systems at their campuses. Principals must decide by Monday whether to voluntarily join.

The decision to cut employees is a 鈥減eople process,鈥� Miles said Friday, and one that he recognizes will be nerve-wracking for affected staff and their families.

鈥淭his, by no means, means that people haven鈥檛 been working hard or that people aren鈥檛 doing the job that they were assigned to do,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淭his is about making sure we right-size central office, and also work most efficiently.鈥�

This article originally appeared in .

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