Thriving to Surviving: Stakeholder Lived Experiences of School District Takeover in Texas Under Broad Academy Leadership

Montgomery, Tonya M. Abstract This qualitative narrative inquiry examines how former community stakeholders experienced and interpreted the 2023 state takeover of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) under broad Academy-aligned leadership. Guided by critical policy race analysis, neoliberal education reform theory, and the concept of coercive bureaucracy, the study centers the voices of six principals, six teachers, and one former elected school board trustee who experienced displacement, resignation, termination, or removal from governance. Narrative interviews revealed that stakeholders experienced the takeover as a profound disruption marked by loss of professional autonomy, heightened surveillance, emotional strain, and diminished democratic participation. Participants described corporate and managerial reform practices as misaligned with student needs, culturally responsive instruction, and educational equity. Despite these harms, stakeholders did not reject reform outright; instead, they recommended restoring democratic governance, meaningful educator and community voice, equity-grounded decision-making, and reinvestment in experienced educators and student supports. The study concludes that the HISD takeover functioned as a coercive governance intervention rather than a capacity-building reform, raising critical questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of state takeovers in majority-minority districts. KEYWORDS: state takeover, Broad Academy leadership, neoliberalism, coercive bureaucracy, dispossession, disenfranchisement, HoustonISD, urban school district takeover

Grantor dc:publisher

Alverno College

Year dc:date

2026

Author dc:creator

• Montgomery, Tonya M.

Statement dc:rights

• These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/1034

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:alverno.omeka.net:1034