Dallas ISD school board did not delay decision on principals until May

Education -  Dallas ISD school board delays decision on principals until May Dallas Morning News - 4-10-13 

• Dallas ISD school board’s decision to non-renew principals delayed to May

  Update at 2:25 p.m. on April 10
  Board president Lew Blackburn sends along this explanation for postponing the decision:
  “Waiting another month will give the administration more time to check their data and processes, to be sure the evaluation system has been applied fairly to all principals. The new evaluation system for principals has two parts: 60% based on management performance, and 40% based on student achievement. The board will need complete and accurate information from the administration. Superintendent Miles will bring his recommendations for all contract non-renewals to the board in May. This will also give principals more time to make decisions about their future. And, because this is a very important decision to non-renew a principal’s contract, the full board will hear any grievances brought by principals.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Is the Dallas School board assessing performance of principals or avoiding an election backlash?

"I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the DISD board’s decision to punt on whether to force out principals at some poorly performing schools until a closed session May. After the furor within the board and in some communities, the board  probably wants to delay a public clash as long as possible and prevent publicly turning principals on the bubble into lame duck administrators.  I’m not sure the delay is good for the district or those principals."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dallas ISD Board did not make this decision. It was made by Board President Lew Blackburn as authorized by Board policy BE (LOCAL).

 

Board Policy BE (LOCAL) - REMOVAL OF ITEMS FROM THE AGENDA

•  Items may be removed from the agenda once published upon the recommendation of the Board President or the Superintendent of Schools. 

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did not vote for the Principal evaluation formula - 60% based on management performance, and 40% based on student achievement. Student achievement means 'test scores.'

Basing 40% of a Principal's or teacher's evaluation on student test  scores is absurd. We are turning our children into objects to be exploited for 30 pieces of silver.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macarena Hernandez, "Test Pressure is Getting to Our Schools: It's Inspiring Cheaters and Stifling Real Learning," Editorial, Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2006

"When I was teaching sophomore English in 1998, one of my students, a stocky 16-year-old football player, came up to me one day after class to say he wanted to transfer out. His last English teacher, he said, spent much more time preparing her class for the state's standardized assessment test, mostly by having students bubble in sample tests. He had decided my class, where we analyzed poetry and wrote essays constantly, wasn't going to help him pass the test. "If I fail, Miss, it's going to be all your fault."

--From Collateral Damage - How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America's Schools - Harvard Education Press

"In our zeal to raise test scores, we have corrupted the very concept of education." 

"...there is mounting evidence that our our poor and minority students are actually being hurt by high-stakes testing."

Eleven closed Dallas ISD Schools could have been saved

I was not going to vote to close eleven schools - I made that quite clear at the January Board Briefing and elsewhere.


Click Here: Slow Down the plan to close DISD Schools-Dallas South publisher Shawn Williams

"Trustee Carla Ranger made her position on the matter very clear. 'I believe that the schools should not be closed, not one school for next year.' I agree. There should not be any schools closed for the coming year."

There was a way to save eleven schools. The schools were not closed solely because of money.  They were also closed because of politics.  The money ($11.5 million dollars) will simply be used for other purposes.

If the Board President wanted to save eleven schools, all he had to do was pull the item from the agenda.  

Board Policy clearly gives the Board President the authority to remove an item from the Board Agenda at any time.

Board Policy (BE) Local states: - Removal of Items From the Agenda.  "Items may be removed from the agenda once published upon the recommendation of the Board President or the Superintendent of Schools..."

The Board President alone had full authority to pull the item.

On Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012 at 3:00 AM, I sent the following request to the Board office hoping this would help save the eleven schools:

From: Carla Ranger
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 3:01 AM
Subject: School Consolidations

Good morning,

This is to recommend that the Board Agenda items relating to school closings 

be pulled from the agenda.

Thank you.

CR

I believe this was the fifth request by a Trustee..

Click Here - DMN reporter Matthew Haag-11:44 AM-Wednesday-1-25-12
Pressure Mounts to pull school closure plan from tomorrow's Dallas ISD school board meeting

"Board president Lew Blackburn said he has heard from four board members who want to postpone the decision and four who do not. Blackburn called himself the "middle guy" and refused to cast the deciding vote

"If it's up to me, it's going to stay on the agenda," he said. "Trustees Carla Ranger and Adam Medrano have both publicly said they will not support the plan..."

Later in the day, it was confirmed again that Lew Blackburn would refuse to pull the school closing item from the agenda.

The outcome was clear - eleven schools would be closed.

District 5 - N. W. Harllee Elementary School

District 6 - D. A. Hulcy Middle School

District 8 - James B. Bonham Elementary School
District 8 - Oran M. Roberts Elementary School
District 8 - Arlington Park Elementary School

District 9 - City Park Elementary School
District 9 - Julia C.Frazier Elementary School
District 9- Phillis Wheatley Elementary School
District 9 - James W. Fannin Elementary School
District 9 - H.S. Thompson Elementary School
District 9 - Pearl C. Anderson Middle School (2013-2014 School Year)

At the Board Meeting the next day - in a meeting room in which the President had stated to the public "... you will not be a part of it," the vote was 6-2 to close the schools.

Voting "Yes" to close eleven schools

Bernadette Nutall ...............  District 9 -- six schools closed

Mike Morath ....................... District 2 -- no schools closed
Nancy Bingham ...................  District 4 -- no schools closed
Edwin Flores ......................  District 1 -- no schools closed
Eric Cowan ........................  District 7 -- no schools closed
Bruce Parrott .....................  District 3 -- no schools closed

Voting "No"

Adam Medrano .................... District 8 -- three schools closed
Lew Blackburn .................... District 5 -- one school closed


Remaining in the Board auditorium

Carla Ranger ...................... District 6 -- one school closed  (I would have voted "NO")

I remained in the Board auditorium with the public because it appeared that Board Policy BED (Local) was violated when Board President Lew Blackburn ordered Dallas ISD police to remove Dallas ISD Bond Committee Member Joyce Foreman from the meeting without warning or a just reason - while she was simply standing quietly at the microphone waiting for several Trustees to return to the meeting.

Board Policy BED(Local) states: The Board shall not tolerate disruption of the meeting by members of the public. If, after at least one warning from the President, any person continues to disrupt the meeting by his or her words or actions, the Board President shall request assistance from law enforcement officials to have the person removed from the meeting.

Board policy BED(Local) was clearly violated. It requires at least one warning from the Board President before he has the authority to remove a citizen from a public meeting. The Board President can also give more than one warning.

Lew Blackburn entered the auditorium after a long absence and immediately gave the order to Dallas ISD police: "Security I would like you to escort Miss Joyce Foreman out of this meeting right now." No warning - no disruption.  All was quiet at the time. "Right Now."

Audience: "Boo". - clearly upset by the unjust treatment of Joyce Foreman standing alone at the microphone waiting for Trustees to return.

Lew Blackburn:  "We will not have disorder in this meeting."  
Audience repeats: "No Justice - No Peace"
Lew Blackburn: "If we do not get quiet, we will move this meeting down the hall and you will not be a part of it."
Citizen in the Audience: "Lew, you should have been in in your seat."
Lew Blackburn: "Sir you need to  be quiet. Trustees we are moving down the hall." Raps gavel.

Trustees moved to the small Board room from the much larger auditorium.  I remained in the auditorium. I believed that there was something very wrong about the way the meeting was suddenly closed down by the Board President.

During the time of the move from the large auditorium to the small board room, Trustee Bernadette Nutall is heard to say, "They don't even know what justice is."

What I witnessed reminded me of how power will be abused and citizens deprived of important rights. 

This entire episode was caused by the Board President's action when he returned to the auditorium. The very first words he spoke gave the order to police to remove Joyce Foreman from the auditorium.  She was doing nothing at the time - just standing at the microphone waiting to speak. The Board President gave no warning as required by Board Policy BED(Local) - nothing.

 ******************************************************************************************************

 Click Here: Live Blog - DMN reporter Tawnell Hobbs:

 7:44 p.m.: I've just been stopped from going to the small board room. I'm being told that the trustees will be watching the speakers from the small boardroom. This could be a violation of the open meetings act -- you've got a quorum of trustees meeting privately and the public is not allowed in the room.

7:49 p.m.: After some side conversations, I've been allowed in the small board room.

7:55 p.m.: Speakers are being called to the small boardroom to speak. It will be broadcast to the auditorium for the large crowd to hear."

 ******************************************************************************************************

After Trustees left the auditorium, some of the public left the auditorium thinking the meeting was over or that they would not be able to participate.

I remained in the auditorium with the public because the Texas Open Meetings Act requires a Trustee to not participate in a meeting if it appears there might be a violation of the state law.

I would have voted "No" on closing eleven schools.

The Board President could have stopped the school closures by pulling the item from the agenda.  He refused.

Dallas ISD Trustees again vote to suppress democracy

l)

Board of Trustees

The vote this evening to again change Dallas ISD Board policy BE (Local) to prevent an individual Trustee from pulling an agenda item for a separate vote was as follows.

Voting to suppress democracy and require two Trustees:

Mike Morath
Lew Blackburn
Bernadette Nutall
Edwin Flores
Nancy Bingham
Eric Cowan

Voting to uphold the right of an individual Trustee to pull an item for a separate vote:

Adam Medrano
Bruce Parrott
Carla Ranger

The vote was 6-3 against democracy.

It is the second time this has been done since 2006 and for the same reason.

The purpose is to make dissent and public discussion of public issues more difficult.