Lew Blackburn - Third Board Agenda Request -- Resolution Concerning High Stakes, Standardized Testing - TASA and TASB

As of April 19, 2012, 344 Texas school districts have  adopted the resolution. TASA

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Third Email Request
-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Third Board Agenda Request -- Resolution Concerning High Stakes, Standardized Testing - TASA and TASB
Date:	Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:05:12 +0000
From:	Ranger, Carla
To:	Lew Blackburn, King, Alan
CC:

Good morning,

More than disappointing, your reply is a reminder that politics too often prevails
at Dallas ISD.

This is my third request to you on behalf of our children, teachers, parents, taxpayers,
and the Texas Association of School Boards. The first request was made April 2, 2012;
the second was made on April 18, 2012.

Please refer me to the Board policy that requires a consensus for an item to
be placed on the agenda. I am not aware of any policy that requires a consensus. 
The Board does not act by consensus.

Four Board members spoke against the Resolution at the Board Briefing - Lew Blackburn,
Bernadette Nutall, Edwin Flores and Nancy Bingham. No other Trustee spoke either way.

Your refusal to allow an up or down Board vote undermines democracy and robs our
community of an opportunity to address the important issue of high stakes testing.

The Resolution is supported by hundreds of school districts, as well as the two
leading public education organizations in Texas - TASA and TASB. Texas
Commissioner of Education Robert Scott has also spoken publicly against the excessive
use of high stakes tests.

What possible justification do you have to block Board action? If Board members
don't support the resolution, their votes will defeat it.

Again, I request that you place this important Resolution on the Agenda
in the interest of our children, teachers, parents and public education.

Please include this email address when responding: Carla@CarlaRanger.com.

Awaiting your reply,

Carla Ranger
District 6 Trustee.

Teacher Hours extended 45 minutes - no pay, no questions asked

On Thursday, January 26, 2012 Dallas ISD Trustees extended teacher hours 45 minutes without pay. No questions were asked.  This is the change to Board policy DK (Local) protested by formerly suspended elementary teacher Joseph Drake in his email to Trustee Edwin Flores.

The second change to Board Policy DK (Local) states:

"In the event two or more schools are consolidated or any schools are closed, staff assigned to the closed schools shall be released into the excess pool."

The vote to extend the teacher day by 45 minutes and to automatically release teachers into the excess pool (some to be later released from employment) was as follows:

Meeting in the Small Board Room - citizens and taxpayers excluded

Voting For extending teacher hours and releasing teachers/staff into the excess pool (some to be later released from employment):

Lew Blackburn

Nancy Bingham
Edwin Flores
Mike Morath
Eric Cowan

Voting Against extending teacher hours and releasing teachers/staff into the excess pool (some to be later released from employment):

Adam Medrano
Bruce Parrott
Bernadette Nutall

Not Voting - Carla Ranger
(remained in the regular Board meeting auditorium with the abandoned public taxpayers)

My comment about DK (Local) at the Board briefing on Thursday, January 12, 2012:  This is an anti-teacher policy change. I also suggested that the vote not be taken on this policy change at the January Board meeting.

Dallas ISD Teacher placed on leave after emailing trustee

I read in a news article by Tawnell Hobbs that one of our dedicated teachers - a father of six children has been suspended apparently because an email was sent to Trustee Edwin Flores criticizing his vote on extending teacher hours.

Dallas ISD teacher upset over longer workday placed on leave after emailing trustee

 I was appalled at this report. 

Some employees of Dallas ISD become frustrated by anti-teacher actions of the Dallas ISD Board.  


Trustees sometimes adopt unwise Board policies that harm the teaching profession.


Trustees often know what is being said about them.  An example ...

I was informed that a Dallas ISD teacher and former Vice President of NEA - criticized me on Unfair Park's blog on the day after the Board Meeting.  She seems to think I did a terrible thing because I decided not to walk out on the citizens of Dallas at a public meeting called under the Texas Open Meetings Act.  The meeting was to decide the fate of eleven public schools.

I will stay again if the rights of citizens are violated as they were at the meeting last Thursday.  I will not walk out during an open meeting unless there is a very good reason.

What I observed on last Thursday was a problem caused by the totally unnecessary, mean-spirited actions taken by a Board President in a manner that abused his authority.

Should a teacher be suspended for criticizing a Trustee?

Of course not.

A teacher and father of six should not become a victim of Dallas ISD political injustice and reprisal.

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Unfair Park
Dallas ISD Trustees Closed 11 Schools Last Night, and It Got Ugly Before It Got Done
By Greg Howard Fri., Jan. 27 2012 at 9:00 AM

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2012/01/disd_school_closings.php#Comments

1 person liked this.

Diane Birdwell 1 day ago

I am disappointed in Carla Ranger. Her staying in the larger room may not have changed the vote's outcome, but by NOT being in the room where the vote was taking place, she deprived her constituents of a VOICE. Even her vote is a VOICE. It is time for her to either get back into the game and ask the pointed questions like she used to, or it is time for her to do something else. Nothing will change in Dallas as long as the same group is in power. I have my gathering group of DISD employees to meet with Roger Melton of the new PAC, "Educate Dallas." I challenged him on D O's blog, and apparently, he read it. So, there you go, they in North Dallas DO read what we say. We are trying to work out  atime that is best for US, the DISD employees, then I can ask him what is convenient for him.

Remember, this new PAC just gave Flores $10,000, even before the filing deadline hit, so they already had him picked. And also know that a teacher has been placed on admin leave for writing a critical email to Flores. You know, maybe my first question will be tying those two things together? Anybody want to be included who is in DISD, FB me.

Dallas ISD Trustees for sale - starting price $10,000.00

Dallas ISD Trustees and facilities are now for sale.

Starting bid $10,000.00

Highest bidder so far - EducateDallas PAC, political action committee with ties to the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Trustees chosen so far - Bernadette Nutall and Edwin Flores - $10,000.00 each (Total $20,000.00).

Who will beat the highest bid of EducateDallas (Dallas Regional Chamber) PAC?

You must have deep pockets to compete - if you want to control Dallas ISD resources, budget and money.

Average citizens who love public education for children need not bid.

You just pay the taxes but you don't count in the money game now coming to Dallas ISD.

Did Deon Sanders Sanders contact Lew Blackburn over the weekend about turning D. A. Hulcey Middle School into a Charter School?

The Board President of Dallas ISD - Trustee Lew Blackburn - is employed by a charter school organization. 

Did Trustee Lew Blackburn meet with Mayor Mike Rawlings on Friday about Dallas ISD school business?

I don't know but I would certainly like to know about this meeting if it did occur.

Has Trustee Lew Blackburn been contacted by Deon Sanders regarding using D. A. Hulcy Middle school for a charter school?

Did Trustee Lew Blackburn meet or talk with Deon Sanders on Saturday or any other time to discuss this?

I don't know, but I would certainly like to know if  Trustee Lew Blackburn is discussing D A Hulcy Middle School in District 6  with Deon Sanders.
                                                                                                                                                 
The eventual sell-out of Dallas ISD real estate to charter schools is one likely result of what was just done by the Board on last Thursday night.

Destroy public schools and privatize them with charter schools.

The push to privatize Dallas ISD schools with charter schools started with the so-called Ad Hoc Charter School Committee composed of Edwin Flores, Nancy Bingham, Bernadette Nutall, and Lew Blackburn (conflict of interest)

The Ad Hoc Charter School Committee was then sponsored by the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce.  Trips were taken a chamber expense and it pretty much became a committee orchestrated by the Dallas Regional Chamber.

Trustee Bernadette Nutall then appointed Todd Williams to be her appointee on the first Budget Commission.  Todd Williams -Vice-Chair Uplift Education - formerly with Goldman Sachs - assisted with the creation of Uplift Education's Williams Preparatory - a charter school with his last name.

Todd Williams now serves as the head of the Dallas ISD Budget Commission and Executive Director of Commit - Dallas Regional Chamber.

The first head of the Dallas ISD Budget Commission was Phil Montgomery - also a leader of charter schools - Founding Chairman of the Board at Uplift Education.

So the Dallas ISD Budget Commission has been headed from the beginning by Charter school promoters.  Decisions about our budget are being made by Budget Commissions headed by charter school operators.

Of course, final decisions about our budget are supposed to be made by Trustees and only Trustees. 

The game now is to start commissions, dilute and divert the authority of the Board and call it reform.  

All the clutter created will be inherited by the new superintendent who just might have a different vision of what ought to happen in public education.

Lew Blackburn hopes to escape to his new superintendency somewhere - leaving behind the damage done to public education.

 Commit - Dallas Regional Chamber

From L to R: DRC Chair Mike Baggett, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Donna Halstead representing the Dallas Citizens Council • President of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Dr. Lew Blackburn • Elaine Agather representing JPMorgan Chase • Linda McMahon representing The Real Estate Council • Richard Holt representing Bank of America, Clint McDonnough, Chair of DRC’s Education Advisory Council