Dallas ISD Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas returns to former school district after 3 months

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Dallas ISD Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas returns to former school district after 3 months

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Rene Barajas Quote:

"I am grateful to Dallas ISD for the opportunity to serve and appreciate all that Superintendent Mike Miles did for me while I was there."

Yes, but it was not enough to stay.

"Garland ISD board president Linda Griffin said Barajas applied for one of two deputy superintendent positions created by the district’s new superintendent after a reorganization of central administration. Barajas went through “our normal interview process,” she said... His exit surprised Dallas school board members." Dallas Morning News

Congratulations to Garland ISD on going through their "normal interview process."

That reflects proper governance and respect for following established policies and procedures of their school district.

Unlike Dallas ISD, Garland ISD Board of Trustees apparently did not delegate all board authority over hiring to the new Superintendent.

"Garland ISD trustees approved his hiring Tuesday night." Education Blog-Dallas Morning News-4-24-13

92 days after arriving, the Chief Financial Officer decided to return to his former school district for a lower salary and no merit pay.

This is not a good sign at all but quite consistent with the current "disruptive" environment of Dallas ISD.

Best wishes to Dr. Rene Barajas in his new position.

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

Thursday, April 25, 2013