Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles, a state-appointed leader who has become a polarizing figure among district stakeholders, will receive a raise of $82,000 per year under afive-year contract extensionapproved by the board of managers last Thursday.
The approval of the new contract — which increases Miles’ annual salary from $380,000 to $462,000 — comes less than a month after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath replaced four of the nine members on the board of managers and said the state’s ongoing takeover of HISD would last until at least 2027. The revamped board also unanimously approved a$2.1 billion budgetfor the 2025-26 school year at last week’s meeting.
In a statement, board president Ric Campo said Miles’ contract was extended to ensure the district's continued transformation.
"The new contract also maintains rigorous evaluation criteria and compensation that aligns the HISD superintendent position with comparable school districts in Texas," Campo said. "The HISD Board is proud of the incredible success of HISD students, and with Superintendent Miles' ongoing leadership, we look forward to continued progress."
Miles' new base salary will make him among the highest-paid superintendents in the state, according toTexas Education Agency datafor the 2024-25 school year. With his previous salary, Miles was ranked 14th statewide.
According to the TEA, the highest-paid superintendent during the 2024-25 school year was Randall Meyer from Victoria ISD, near Corpus Christi, with a base salary of $565,047. The highest-paid superintendent in the Houston area last year was Barbers Hill ISD’s Greg Poole with a base salary of $489,143. In Harris County, the highest-paid superintendent last year was Martha Salazar-Zamora of Tomball ISD with a base salary of $469,638.
The raise for Miles drew criticism from the Houston Federation of Teachers, a union representing thousands of teachers in HISD. His two-year tenure, while coinciding with improved scores on standardized tests, also has been marked by continued enrollment declines, significant staffing shakeups, community protests and the failure of a $4.4 billion bond proposal that could be considered a referendum on Miles’ leadership and the state’s intervention.
“This hostile takeover is nothing more than a money grab for (Gov. Greg) Abbott and his cronies,” Houston Federation of Teachers president Jackie Anderson said in a statement to Houston Public Media. “How coincidental that the vote for this raise comes on the heels of removing the most outspoken of the board of managers, those most likely to vote against it. None of this has anything to do with student outcomes.”
In addition to Miles’ more than 21% raise, set to take effect July 1, his contract includes a performance incentive pay plan tied to a points-based evaluation system created by the board.Miles can earn maximum incentive pay of $231,000 per year.
His contract also includes personal protection and a district vehicle. The board can reevaluate and adjust his salary at any time during the five-year contract.
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