When Mike Miles arrived at Dallas ISD, he brought his family with him. He and his wife bought a house in Northwest Dallas, and his son enrolled at Marsh Middle School. Now the family's having second thoughts.
The Morning News' Matthew Haag broke the news this morning:
Miles informed his top staff and trustees last night that his wife, Karen, and youngest child, Anthony, will return to Colorado in time for his son to start seventh grade there. Miles' family moved with him a year ago, leaving where they had lived for 17 years, to settle down in Dallas and send Anthony to their neighborhood middle school."It's a difficult decision, but we feel that our first responsibility is to our son, and we have to do what is best for him," Miles said in an email notifying district leaders. "We also hope to insulate him from the negative media that is starting to take its toll on him and Karen."
Miles didn't return a phone call seeking comment. DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander said Miles doesn't plan to talk publicly about the move.
However, Dahlander said Miles and his family will reevaluate the move at the end of next school year to determine whether they should there or come back to Dallas.
"It's not until he moved here that he realized how much media attention there is," Dahlander said. "There is media pressure but the pressure of the job is pretty intense. Any type of criticism is difficult, particularly for school-aged children."
It's hard to blame them for wanting to escape. Miles has been the target of a constant stream of criticism and vitriol that shows no sign of letting up. It's inevitable that some of that will spill over to his wife and son, whether it's through middle schoolers acting like middle schoolers or the protestors that set up shop in front of your house. They aren't the ones who took the job.
At the same time, it means that Miles has a child who isn't even enrolled in the district he leads. At the very least, that's bad optics. It's also one less thing tethering him to DISD.
