Texas State Teachers Association General Counsel confirms December 31, 2007 deadline for changing to four year terms

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Texas State Teachers Association General Counsel confirms December 31, 2007 deadline for changing to four year terms

In a November 18, 2008 memorandum to Dale Kaiser, President, NEA-Dallas, the General Counsel of the Texas State Teachers Association has confirmed that the Dallas ISD may not extend its trustees' terms from three to four years after December 31, 2007.

The TSTA General Counsel's memo states:

"The Deadline for the Dallas I.S.D. to extend its trustee's terms from three to four years was December 31, 2007. Any attempt to do so now would be in violation of the Texas Education Code."

The memo points out that the Elections Division of the Secretary of State's office was consulted:

"Further, TSTA has conferred with the Elections Division of the Secretary of State's office. The Elections Division has confirmed that the deadline to adopt a resolution to change the length of trustees' terms, for any school district, was December 31, 2007."

Finally, the TSTA General Counsel recommends:

"TSTA urges the Dallas I.S.D., or any individual trustee with concerns about this issue, to contact the office of the Secretary of State to seek clarification regarding limitations of changing the length of trustees' terms. Ultimately, adopting a resolution to change the length of trustees' terms will likely be found to be invalid, and may result in complaints to the Attorney General of Texas, Texas Secretary of State, and United States Department of Justice."

A Teacher's Creed

"In the classroom on the first day of a new school year, I am eager to meet my students. I have rehearsed my greeting and first day’s remarks, but no matter how many years I’ve prepared for this procedure, it’s always new. My heart pumps a bit harder, faster; I feel adrenaline like an athlete, or like an actor, or maybe like a novice public speaker. It’s a marvelous feeling, this first day, because I know that something special is going to happen, and I know it because I’ve experienced it before and I know that I will experience it every time I meet a new class throughout my venerable career. And then they’re seated before me and I smile at this special feeling. This is an assembly of students, yes. But there’s so much more, because each of these young persons is more than just a student entrusted to me. Each of these students has a story to tell, a lifetime, however brief, of experiences, a history in volumes whose richness and depth I can barely begin to fathom. And so as I absorb the first glimpse of these young charges, I must appreciate the extent of my responsibility, of the privilege I’ve accepted in presenting these young souls my special knowledge. In offering them my talent and passion, I am adding an enormous array of new bright stars to the vast firmament of their minds, stars that will never have time to fade in their lifetimes. I will be part of their story. And I know that each of them will always be part of mine. And that’s a good feeling, a feeling that is perpetually renewed, revisited, and rewritten in A Teacher’s Creed."

Carla Ranger - Dallas ISD Education Blog

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Texas State Teachers Association General Counsel confirms December 31, 2007 deadline for changing to four year terms

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