Trustee Nancy Bingham "mainly criticized trustee Carla Ranger"

On yesterday Dallas Morning News reporter Tawnell Hobbs reported that Trustee Nancy Bingham "mainly criticized trustee Carla Ranger."

More Here - Education Blog - DMN

"Note, Nutall didn’t mention Bingham in the quote above. I called Bingham and she wasn’t too happy upon hearing why I was calling. She mainly criticized trustee Carla Ranger, who she said had disclosed information about the issue that was said during a closed session of the board.

“I think the bigger issue is that Ms. Ranger violated a closed-door session,” Bingham said."

Trustee Bingham's accusation is no surprise to me. It is to be expected.  

Trustee Bingham expressed no responsibility  or remorse for the allegations made by Trustee Bernadette Nutall on last Saturday. 

There has been no denial that Trustee Nutall described the recorded conversation between Trustees Nancy Bingham and Mike Morath as racial. This is a serious allegation.

For some strange reason there was no Board attorney present during any of the closed meeting - just Trustees and the Superintendent.

Regarding Trustee Bingham's accusation that I violated the closed session, former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox issued an opinion (July 11, 1989 - Opinion No. JM-1071) that established the right of a public official to comment on the subject matter of a so-called closed session. 

I posted the entire Attorney General opinion on this blog on April 3, 2012. The link is below:

Attorney General Jim Mattox upheld right to talk about closed session in 1989

A San Antonio Investigative reporter John Tedesco (San Antonio Express-News) reported on a similar closed session issue on Tuesday, February 17, 2009.

Here is the link:

La Villita for sale: Can officials talk about closed-door meetings?

The 2009 San Antonio Express-News article concluded:

" Actually, Cisneros and other officials are perfectly free to talk about what happens in executive session. That’s according to a 1989 opinion from then-Attorney General Jim Mattox."

"So if you want answers about a topic that interests you, wave a copy of this AG opinion anytime a public official tries to tell you she can’t talk about closed-door meetings."

There was no violation of the closed session.

 Editorial: Why the Texas Open Meetings Act matters - DMN-Published: 03 August 2012 05:21 PM

Alleged racial conversation between Trustees Bingham and Morath

A few months after I joined the Dallas ISD Board in 2006, a Trustee cursed while sitting at the horseshoe during a board meeting. I was told the remark was directed at me. The Trustee said: "F.. K You."

Many years ago (1997) racist remarks were made by former Dallas ISD Board member Dan Peavy in  telephone conversations with then Board President Sandy Kress that revealed racist attitudes toward African American Board members.

The comments between Trustees Dan Peavy and Sandy Kress during a recorded telephone conversation were condemned by the community when revealed at a Board meeting.

The Board and the public were informed of Trustee Peavy's racial statements.  Sandy Kress went to federal court to block the release of his taped remarks.  The damage was done.

Trustee Dan Peavy resigned from the Board.  

Trustee Sandy Kress went on to Austin and later to Washington, D.C. to help initiate the so-called education  reform agenda that became the destructive No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
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On Saturday I heard information about an alleged conversation between Dallas ISD Trustees Nancy Bingham and Mike Morath.

It was alleged by Trustee Bernadette Nutall that certain racially based remarks were made in the conversation. 

Upon hearing the allegations, I decided to ask Trustee Bingham if the allegations were true, "Did you recently make  racist remarks about a Board member or participate in a conversation in which such remarks were made?"

Trustee Nancy Bingham would not answer. She would not confirm.  She did not deny.

Nancy Bingham's only response, repeatedly stated: "That was a private conversation."

I posed the same question to Trustee Mike Morath. "Did you recently make  racist remarks about a Board member or participate in a conversation in which such remarks were made?"

Mike Morath's response:  "I wouldn't know if the remarks were racist."

It is reported there is a recording of the conversation.

If the allegations are true, the Dallas ISD Board should take whatever official action is appropriate.  

I would like to hear the tape recording of the conversation. If the allegations are not true, the tape will reveal that.

A special meeting should be called to determine if inappropriate Trustee racial comments were made.

I do not know the truth of the matter.  

I do know that when I asked on Saturday, the allegations were not denied by either of the Trustees involved.

Will the Dallas ISD Board address the issue?

Probably not.  Efforts are already underway to cover it up.

Let all the Trustees hear the tape together. The allegations are either true or they are not.


Dallas Observer - Thursday, January 23, 1997
It's All A Matter of Power by Miriam Rosen

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.

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