Texas teachers unions are calling for the resignation of HISD Superintendent Mike Miles and a federal investigation after an explosive report from Spectrum TV news alleged that state taxpayer funds had been funneled into charter schools in Colorado that Miles helped to found. 

The report published Monday evening discovered that Texas education funding intended for local schools had instead been diverted to a series of charter schools in Colorado once led by Miles. On Tuesday, Houston Federation of Teachers president Jackie Anderson called for Miles' resignation and for a federal criminal investigation into the superintendent's financial dealings. The state's largest teachers' union first called on Miles to resign in a vote of "no confidence" earlier this month.

"Just days after learning that Mike Miles is laying off hundreds of custodians, librarians and removing popular principals from our schools, we are now learning that he’s treating our public school system as his own personal piggy bank,” Anderson said in a statement.

After abruptly leaving office as the superintendent of Dallas ISD in 2015, Miles went on to lead a chain of charter schools called Third Future, operating in Colorado, Texas and Louisiana. In 2023, the Texas Education Agency tapped Miles to lead the Houston ISD, but he stayed on Third Future as a consultant, Spectrum reported. Spectrum alleged that during Miles' time with the charter school network millions of dollars in state education funding meant for Third Future's Ector College Prep in Odessa instead went to the company's cash-strapped charter schools in Colorado.

Anderson called the news an "outrageous betrayal of trust."

"The corruption of this deal stretches beyond just Mike Miles - the board of managers is also complicit in this shadowy scheme by failing to provide oversight and transparency," Anderson continued. "Greg Abbott’s takeover of our schools has failed. Teachers, students and their families deserve better."

Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) president Ovidia Molina reviewed the documents obtained by Spectrum and found them "alarming," TSTA spokesman Clay Robison said. 

"We are very concerned about this," Robison told Chron Tuesday. "If it's not illegal, it should be illegal."

Robison reasserted the organization's calls for an investigation and said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath owed the public an explanation for hiring Miles in the first place. 

"They hired Mike Miles to work wonders at HISD, but Mike Miles couldn't even work wonders with his own charter chain," Robison said. "It takes more to lead an educational institution than be a bully, which seems to be all Miles can do."

Third Future took control of Ector Middle School from Ector ISD in 2018, renaming it Ector College Prep. In November, the school district announced it would be ending its partnership with Third Future and retaking control of Ector College Prep, even though Third Future successfully raised the school's rating from an "F" to a "B" in just five years.

Ector ISD superintendent Scott Muri told Odessa American that Third Future had done a "good job," but the school district would be pivoting its focus to shore up Ector Middle School's arts programs and electives. 

“There may be some things that are happening that they want to keep; some ways of doing things that may not be visible in other schools, but they really want, so we’ll work with them as well,” Muri said.

Ector ISD did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation. The Texas Education Agency did not respond to requests for comment, nor did representatives from HISD.

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis joined the chorus of calls for an investigation into Miles on Tuesday.

"While HISD teacher benefits are slashed, libraries are closed, and support staff are let go, it appears Mike Miles has been shipping taxpayer dollars to his failing Colorado charter schools," Ellis wrote in a message posted to X. "HISD parents and Texas taxpayers deserve a full investigation."