In November 2021, The National Audit Office published a report on financial sustainability of schools noting that schools had experienced considerable financial pressures in recent years. The NAO report found that while most schools were financially sustainable, local authority (LA) maintained schools were more likely to be experiencing cost…

This paper examines the financial transparency and accountability practices before and after the 2023 state takeover of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Superintendent Mike Miles and his Board of Managers reallocated critical district resources towards troubling new "priorities," while the district was facing a sizable…