HISD could pay high-performing principals up to $65K more than others

Plus: Texas AG Paxton, electric grid regulators fight efforts to reduce air pollution.

View in browser   By Cat DeLaura 📰 Click here to view today's e-Edition Good morning, Houston. It's Wednesday.   🌦️ Temperature check: High of 85; low of 75. Justin's insight: This week's cold front promises to bring multiple days of stormy weather to the Houston area, but what makes fronts so efficient at producing storms? Read more here.    📅 Today's calendar: Houston City Council will meet today at 9 a.m. Find the agenda here.    🗳️ Plus, early voting for the November election begins later this month. Get prepared with our voter guide here. And if you haven't registered to vote yet, you have until October 10 to do so.    Cat DeLaura Audience Engagement Producer cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com Best of the Bayou Today we're talking about a new evaluation system for HISD principals... If you read one thing: The Houston ISD Board of Managers is set to consider approving state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles' new evaluation system for principals during its regular meeting later this month.    What is the evaluation system?    The evaluation system, known as the Leader Effectiveness and Development System, assesses principals based on student achievement, a school's quality of instruction, special education achievement and compliance and implementation of the school's action plan during the 2023-24 school year.    The system classifies principals into three effectiveness levels based on their scores – progressing, proficient and exemplary – and ties their salaries to their evaluations starting in the 2024-25 school year.    How could pay differ between principals?   Under the system, the highest achieving elementary school principals would earn $50,000 more a year than the lowest achieving elementary school principals, while the district's top middle school and high school principals will receive an extra $65,000 a year above the lowest principal salaries.    What's next?   The appointed board is set to meet Thursday to review the items on its regular meeting agenda, such as the new principal evaluation system, along with a series of other topics like special education, the New Education System and student discipline. The board will then vote on its agenda during its regular meeting on Oct. 12. Read Megan Menchaca's full story here.  Stay in the Loop Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle 📰 Need to Know: House impeachment managers release new evidence. Documents released by the House impeachment managers after Attorney General Ken Paxton's acquittal reveal closer ties between the contractor who renovated Paxton's home and Nate Paul, the real estate investor accused of bribing Paxton. Plus, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke to two Republican senators widely seen as swing votes during the deliberations in Paxton's impeachment trial. Eric Dick fined $10,000 for campaign finance violations. The TEC ruled late last month that Dick will be required to pay the $10,000 for campaign finance violations that occurred during his unsuccessful campaign for Harris County Treasurer in March 2022. Kevin McCarthy becomes the first speaker ever to be ousted. McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. 💼 Business: Tomlinson's take on the Texas PUC: Republican leaders are fighting to keep Texans breathing toxins and dying from preventable respiratory diseases lest the federal government force big corporations to spend some of their monster profits on cleaning up their pollution, writes columnist Chris Tomlinson. Two under-the-radar real estate firms in Houston are merging into a new company called Ember. The new firm is planning future multifamily and rail-served industrial projects in the Houston area, although Ember declined to provide specifics about those projects for now. Feds announce $235 million to redevelop contaminated 'brownfield' sites. Though this year's funds have not yet been targeted, Texas has received more than $7.6 million from the federal Brownfields Program in the last two funding cycles. 🚗 Outside the Loop: Old family film shows downtown Conroe as a hotspot in the 1930s oil boom. A 16 mm family home movie that has been converted into a YouTube video offers a new glimpse at downtown Conroe as it was in the late 1930s.  Woodlands Arts Council opens a new office, 'mini museum' and exhibit. After 18 years of running one of the most acclaimed art fairs in the region, the Woodlands Arts Council will open its first in-person space with an exhibit and grand opening Saturday.  Point of View 🗣️ Letters to the Editor: We've had cartoon guides for the Ken Paxton trial and for Greg Abbott's school vouchers. Isn't it time to shine a light on the other side of the aisle?   🗪 Other points of view: November endorsement: The Editorial Board endorses Edward Pollard for Houston City Council, District J.    Sign up for the "SaysHou" newsletter to get more editorials, columns and letters curated by the Chronicle's opinion team here.  Houston vs. All Y'all Ken Ellis / Houston Chronicle Playtime is over for young Rockets. Under the no-nonsense Ime Udoka, playtime is over, as is free playing time, writes columnist Jerome Solomon.   As Astros await postseason opener, here are five topics to watch. Third and fourth starter candidates, Michael Brantley's availability and whether to carry a lefty in the bullpen are all topics that could impact the Astros' attempt to repeat as World Series winners.    Another blow to Texans line as guard Kendrick Green tears meniscus in knee. The injury, first reported by ESPN, is the most recent blow to an offensive line that has now lost nine players to various degrees of injuries this season.   Find more of our sports coverage here.  Get Out Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle How Le Jardinier chefs are keeping fine dining alive in Houston. The chefs leading Le Jardinier fully believe in fine dining, even if their version is slightly more relaxed and leaves out the heavier-handed, butter-drenched French recipes that once practically defined Michelin-caliber dining.   From Houston to the Globe: "The Great White Bard" author and Globe educator Farah Karim Cooper discusses Shakespeare and race.    Blackberri, Houston's bearded drag queen, to compete on 'Dragula.' The bearded queen, a familiar face to any fan of Houston drag, will join a new group of uglies for "Dragula" Season 5. The reality competition hosted by the Boulet Brothers challenges contestants on four tentpoles: drag, filth, horror and glamour.   Cary Darling's new films include new 'Exorcist' and 'Royal Hotel.' "She Came to Me" and "Strange Way of Life" starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke are also hitting our screens. View Through the Lens Today, staff photographer Karen Warren is taking over this section of The 713 to explain what it was like covering the Astros celebration after clinching their sixth American League West Division title in the last seven seasons. Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Warren: My photo of manager Dusty Baker Jr. hugging a laughing Héctor Neris, while Yordan Álvarez tries to light a cigar with giant lighter stick while also holding two beers, just makes me smile. It is also my favorite photo from this weekend's three-game final series of the regular season against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  It was one of the last photos I took before running back out to the photo well to transmit the photos back to the Chronicle.   As you know by now, the Houston Astros clinched a postseason berth on Saturday night. And on Sunday they clinched their sixth American League West Division title in the last seven seasons, with an 8-1 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Also aiding their division clinch was a 1-0 Seattle Mariners victory over the Texas Rangers.   The clubhouse was loud with the shouts of happiness from these athletes and smelled of champagne and beer mixed together. It isn't the most pleasant smell in the world, unless you are a member of the winning team, and then that smell is victory. The floor is covered in plastic to protect the carpeting in the visitors' clubhouse, which creates a very slippery and soggy experience. I learned my lesson years ago, while covering these celebrations outside of Minute Maid Park, to always pack a second pair of sneakers so I don't smell like I have pulled an all-nighter on the flight back home!   Here's to a few more of these celebrations in the next few weeks. Who's going to Texas Ren Fest this weekend?    Cat DeLaura cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com Do you love The 713?  Subscribe to the Houston Chronicle to support this newsletter and get other perks.    Know someone else who would like The 713? Send them here to sign up. Unsubscribe  |  Manage Preferences  |  Privacy Notice Houston Chronicle 4747 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027 © 2023 Hearst Communications