HOUSTON — A former Houston ISD principal of the year won't be back on campus next school year after she said she was forced to resign.

Amanda Wingard is the principal at Neff Elementary in the Sharpstown area. 

"The irony is not lost on me as I was at the banquet to be honored for being Principal of the Year almost exactly a year ago," Wingard said. 

Wingard started as a teacher at Neff, then spent six years as assistant principal before being promoted to principal. It's the same school she attended as a child. 

Wingard said it's been a tough few days after she said she was asked to resign. She said HISD didn't give her an explanation.

"I plan to finish out the school year and am looking forward to having my 1st summer off EVER. I have loved Neff and the Sharpstown community for the last 35 years," Wingard shared. "I am at peace with whatever happens next, but am managing the different emotions."

Wingard was overcome by emotion last May when she was recognized by then-Superintendent Millard House II in a surprise celebration organized by students and fellow teachers. 

“The Principal of the Year is the kind of individual who embodies all of the qualities of what it is to be a service leader, to give of themselves, to give it all for their staff and their students on a daily basis,” House said.

HISD job cuts

Outside HISD headquarters Friday, a constant stream of workers learned they too were out of work right before Mother's Day Weekend. They included teachers, custodians, maintenance workers, mechanics and other personnel. 

The district isn't saying how many jobs were cut but union representatives said it could be over 1,000.

"We are looking at the dismantling of HISD in real-time. we knew that changes would be made, or needed to be made in HISD, but you don't need a hatchet when a knife will do," Jackie Anderson, Houston Federation of Teachers president told us.

RELATED: 'Throwing me out like an old pair of shoes' | Hundreds losing jobs after mass layoffs at Houston ISD

On Saturday, State Rep. Jarvis Johnson called for Superintendent Mike Miles' removal.

"You can't dismiss our top educators and staff without a fight. Parents, teachers, students, and I are all furious," Jarvis said in a statement.

In a statement earlier this week, HISD said the cuts are part of "tough budget decisions for the next academic year." 

Full HISD statement

"Like most school districts in Texas and across the country, HISD is being forced to make tough budget decisions for the 2024-2025 academic year. State funding for education has not increased, and the one-time money provided by the federal government to support students during and after the pandemic is no longer available. This means HISD must right size the central office and find ways to operate more efficiently. 

Many HISD departments are seeing a reduction in force, and that process has been ongoing since January. Superintendent Miles has said the District will keep cuts as far away from students and classrooms as possible and will continue to invest in our teachers and leaders. The staffing decisions being made by HISD will allow us to allocate the District’s limited resources in ways that will help ensure all students receive high-quality instruction every day. 

HISD’s administrative team is actively building the proposed budget for next school year. We will have more information to share in the coming weeks. While we cannot comment on specific employees or positions being impacted by these reductions, many HISD departments are impacted. Employees whose positions are changed or eliminated will stay in them until the end of the year, and HISD will support them to find other opportunities in the District if they choose. Services to schools and students will not be disrupted."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story indicated Wingard was part of budget cuts, but she said she wasn't given a reason.

Marcelino Benito on social media: Facebook | X | Instagram

HOUSTON — This week, hundreds of HISD employees learned that they’re losing their jobs in just a few weeks. Those impacted include custodians, maintenance workers, mechanics and teachers.

Four parents of HISD students spent part of Mother’s Day preparing to hold a parent protest Monday morning outside of Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School because of the mass layoffs happening at the district.

“We don't have anybody except us representing our interests and not only that, parents need to do it because teachers and principals and staff, they are terrified of retaliation,” Stacy Anderson said.

The moms said the principal at their kids' school shared the news he received from the district with faculty staff and the PTO last week.

“The 22-23 principal of the year was given two options resign or face termination,” Rochelle Cabe said.

RELATED: She was principal of the year in 2023. A year later, she said HISD forced her to resign

The group of moms said they didn’t want that to happen.

“Instead of helping support all the kids, what they're doing is they're firing seasoned veteran teachers and principals who create these and foster these fantastic communities,” Kristi Pewthers said.

They want to step up and be the voice for their school community.  

“Children are growing and learning who they are, and we need them to continue doing that,” Elizabeth Shepard said. “They've been supported in that effort here. They've been allowed to find their place and their voice, and we cannot lose that in favor of budget or scores or any other unreliable metric.”

They fear that if they don’t speak up things will only get worse.

“This is about every school in history and about all these teachers and all of these principals,” Anderson said.

Their hope is that together they can send a unified message to HISD.

“The district needs to understand that as mothers, we’re not going to back down,” Cabe said.

Their protest is set to begin at 7:30 a.m. Monday and said so far over 200 people have already RSVP’d.

RELATED: Houston ISD superintendent defends job cuts, blames end of COVID funding, performance evaluations

HOUSTON — Job cuts across the board are happening in Texas' largest school district.

Houston Independent School District Mike Miles said that despite what critics are saying, his first year overseeing the district has been a success.

"We are running through the finish," Miles said. "I think we've had a good year. It's been a year of progress."

Others still aren't happy with the state's takeover of the district.

"They say they came in the name of helping people, but they are not helping anyone," said Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson.

Miles cited COVID funding no longer being available for some of the cuts but also said performance evaluations played a role. The district is trying to close a $450 million gap to stay on track with next year's budget of $800 million.

Miles said multiple people will not be returning to work for the district next year, but said firing isn't the right word since they will still finish out the school year.

"No one has been let go if they are a teacher or principal," the superintendent said. "With regard to custodians or other positions, I've already said we are reducing positions in many, many departments."

According to the district, wrap-around specialists, which provide resources for students like food and healthcare referrals, is a recurring expense. The pandemic-era funding that paid for these specialists is no longer there, HISD said.

Parents spoke out against cuts at Thursday's HISD board meeting.

"You told us your cuts were going to be as far away from the students as possible," said HISD parent Tonya Sampson during the meeting's public comment period. "But you cut wrap-around services. That's food and shelter. You can't get any closer to cuts to students than wrap-around services."

As for teachers and principals who won't be returning, Miles said performance evaluations are to blame. Teachers union members argue otherwise.

"Yes, we have heard that, we heard yesterday that there was a mass firing of principals and teachers," said Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson. "Also a mass firing of plant operators and custodial staff. That is quite alarming because everybody has a role in educating our students."

HFT held its own event ahead of Thursday's HISD board meeting, calling Mile's first year as superintendent a disaster.

Despite the job cuts, the district said it received 2,000 applications for the 800 open teacher positions they are looking to fill.

"We will be able to fill our positions with people with continuously improving mindest for next year," Miles said.

The district has a budget workshop scheduled for next week.

Katiera Winfrey on social media: Facebook | X | Instagram