NBC Nightly News decided to inexplicably whine and cry over the state of Texas taking over the Houston Independent School District, which NBC even admitted was failing. Yet, for some reason, this was still a problem and enough of a story for them to dedicate an entire segment to and use as yet another hammer to hit conservatives over the head with.
Anchor Lester Holt introduced the segment before handing it over to the left-wing hyper partisan activist correspondent Antonia Hylton. “Big changes this year in some Houston, Texas, school districts. A district eliminating dozens of school librarians. The controversial reason why and how some families are fighting back,” Holt intoned.
Hylton started her report with a sob story: “Houston mom Jessica Compos has spent the entire summer dreading the return to school.”
“I feel like I’ve spent my entire summer fighting. So coming here, it kind of—I can breathe,” Compos told NBC.
The reason for her spending her summer fighting? Compos’s daughter's elementary “became one of more than 28 schools in the Houston Independent School District replacing their library with a center for work and discipline.”
Hylton asked Compos “what's happening to the Houston schools?” To which she answered: “It feels like they're being taken apart, dismantled, destroyed.”
“This summer the state of Texas took over HISD, a district of almost 200,000 kids. A blue city in a red state. They replaced the elected school board members and swapped the superintendent for a charter school owner and former leader of Dallas schools,” Hylton huffed.
One of the more absurd moments came when Hylton harassed Mike Miles, the new superintendent:
HYLTON: Do you believe librarians are important?
MILES: Every single position has value. We can't be all things to all people and we can't have everything we want.
HYLTON: So does that mean you're robbing Peter to pay Paul?
MILES: No, I mean, I wouldn't phrase it that way. What I would say is we're putting in a bold, different model that works.
What kind of question is: “Do you believe librarians are important?”
NBC claims they love education, but whenever reforms are enacted like the ones in Texas, they throw a fit. The truth is, they only support indoctrination and teachers unions. Not teachers or education.
The biased segment was made possible by Liberty Mutual.
The transcript is below:
NBC Nightly News
8/30/2023
6:51:02 p.m. Eastern
3 minutes 16 secondsLESTER HOLT: Big changes this year in some Houston, Texas, school districts. A district eliminating dozens of school librarians. The controversial reason why and how some families are fighting back. Here's Antonia Hylton.
ANTONIA HYLTON: Houston mom Jessica Compos has spent the entire Summer dreading the return to school.
JESSICA COMPOS: I feel like I’ve spent my entire summer fighting. So coming here, it kind of -- I can breathe.
HYLTON: Ever since her daughter's elementary became one of more than 28 schools in the Houston Independent School District replacing their library with a center for work and discipline.
What's happening to the Houston schools?
COMPOS: It feels like they're being taken apart, dismantled, destroyed.
HYLTON: This summer the state of Texas took over HISD, a district of almost 200,000 kids. A blue city in a red state. They replaced the elected school board members and swapped the superintendent for a charter school owner and former leader of Dallas schools. Some like Mayor Sylvester Turner say it's a hostile takeover.
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER: Well, Houston has kind of been Its own state government for years, okay so let's not be fooled.
HYLTON: Everyone agrees Houston schools needed to change. Some were failing. Many students fell behind in reading and math. District leaders tried to improve and the state even gave them a "B" rating in 2022. They took over anyway and laid off employees and replaced libraries in underperforming schools so they could give some teachers higher salaries.
COMPOS: I can't afford a laptop for my kids so books is where we get to travel. You know, to dream.
HYLTON: Jessica's daughter Sophie is starting fifth grade at one of the new education system schools.
SOPHIE COMPOS: I barely know how to read. I just started reading fifth grade because my English teacher helped me a lot.
HYLTON: She says the library was a place where she could practice.
Superintendent Mike Miles understands families are anxious about change but he argues books will still be available on shelves and these team centers where students will work or go when they are disruptive will help kids like Sophie catch up.
In a district where there are so many kids who are struggling to read why disrupt the library of all places?
MIKE MILES: Reading is key. We may not have librarians, but even in this room, books are on the shelves.
HYLTON: Do you believe librarians are important?
MILES: Every single position has value. We can't be all things to all people and we can't have everything we want.
HYLTON: So does that mean you're robbing Peter to pay Paul?
MILES: No, I mean, I wouldn't phrase it that way. What I would say is we're putting in a bold, different model that works.
HYLTON: Jessica Compos considered busing Sophie to another school away from her neighborhood and friends.
COMPOS: I'm not gonna do that because I'm not going to leave those kids there.
HYLTON: She says parents aren't going to let their change without a fight. Antonia Hylton, NBC News, Houston, Texas.
