HISD Board Might Extend Terry Grier's Contract Tonight

Terry Grier's contract being discussed.

Five Houston school board members are, and they are looking to extend the superintendent's contract for another year, to 2014.

The move may come as early as tonight, although some are questioning whether doing so would violate the state's Open Meetings Act.

The board agenda doesn't specifically state the contract will be voted upon, but it does say the contract will be discussed in closed session and the board will then "consider items discussed" in that closed session.

Experts tell Texas Watchdog that's not good enough, but apparently the district disagrees.

HISD spokesman Jason Spencer tells us:

Our attorney says it is properly posted for a vote tonight. It's posted in exactly the same manner as the 2007 meeting agenda when former Superintedent Abe Saavedra's contract was renewed with no objections.

Even if the vote doesn't come tonight, it looks like that would mean only a slight delay. Ericka Mellon, who covers HISD for the Houston Chronicle, has five board members on the record saying they support an extension, and that's all it takes.

No superintendent, though, wants to be leading a board that voted 5-4 on him.

Grier, of course, has been controversial in many ways, as we've noted throughout his tenure, which began September 2009. His Apollo 20 program, which focuses on a limited number of troubled schools in an effort to improve their test scores, has been an item of contention for some parents whose kids don't go to those schools.

We'll let you know what happens tonight.