Today, Dallas ISD Trustees intend to willfully violate the clear restriction placed on extending Trustee terms of office from three to four years by Section 11.059 (e) of the Texas Education Code effective on April 25, 2007.
The Secretary of State's office has confirmed that a very clear time limit was placed on making changes in the terms of school trustees in Texas when the legislature passed an amendment to the Texas Education Code in April, 2007.
It seems to be fairly easy to understand -- this right was given in 2003, but any change in terms had to be completed not later than December 31, 2007 because a new section (e) was added to the Texas Education Code in 2007 (four years after the 2003 law).
Pretty simple - except when there is a not-so-secret agenda to be accomplished here.
Even a state law doesn't matter if it gets in the way.
What is the rush? Why not get this matter resolved before rushing to do the wrong thing?
The real agenda is political control of the District.
The Board majority will guarantee that certain Trustees don't have to face re-election in May, 2009. Let me be clear -- even if my re-election was in May, 2009, I would still vote against this.
What is the purpose of canceling Trustee elections next year?
The purpose appears to be to: preserve the power of the current majority to control the district; maintain the current agenda to destroy public education for a prize that means nothing and; maintain control in the hands of secret committees operating behind closed doors with the highest paid Superintendent in Texas.
Everything is a secret. There is little openness, and information is withheld from Board members and the public.
On Monday, the meeting notice for today's meeting was changed by the Board President to read: "Auditorium or Board Briefing Room." This means the Board President and others are thinking that the meeting today might be moved to the small Board room so the public can be excluded.
I don't recall such a notice before.
The district has being undermined on this watch because of all the repeated efforts to block Board responsibility to oversee the district. All we have are excuses, expensive investigations and cover-ups of wrongdoing and refusals to act in the interest of taxpayers who elected us.
The school district is not a personal fiefdom to be operated as a secret operation of cronies benefiting financially from the district.
This must end if Dallas ISD is to reflect the right of all stakeholders to fully participate and be respected.
The private agenda of the Board majority will be maintained at all costs because this is about politics - not education.
We should be voting to expand community trust and confidence. We should not be voting to expand Trustee terms and years.
I will vote, No.
