Group pushes for election to remake Dallas ISD as freer home-rule district...
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By TAWNELL D. HOBBS and MATTHEW HAAG Staff Writers Published: 01 March 2014 02:39 PM Updated: 02 March 2014 12:00 AM
Dallas voters will be met at the polls Tuesday by petitioners seeking support for an effort that could radically change how the Dallas Independent School District is governed and operated. The petition is the first step in a move to make Dallas ISD a “home-rule school district.” A 1995 state law allows a voter-approved charter to guide a district’s operations and free it from some state rules. The Dallas effort would be the first use of the law in Texas. A new group, Support Our Public Schools, is leading the charge. It is financially supported by Houston philanthropist John Arnold, a former Enron trader and hedge fund manager, and other, anonymous donors. The charter could eliminate the elected board of trustees in favor of another governing structure, including an appointed board, if that is the will of the voters. New lesson plans could be substituted for the state’s curriculum standards. The school year could start earlier and be extended. Some opponents of home-rule districts say the measure allows school districts to abandon statewide policies that benefit students and teachers. Supporters say it would free the district from unproductive requirements. Organizers for Support Our Public Schools will roll out the petition during Tuesday’s primary election. The group needs 24,459 signatures, which is 5 percent of registered voters, to eventually get the issue on a ballot for voter approval. Unknown is what the effort would mean for Superintendent Mike Miles and his vision for the district. Miles said Saturday that he didn’t know enough about it to comment. “Regardless,” he said, “the focus of our team will continue to be on improving the quality of instruction in every classroom so that our students can be successful in college and their careers.” Several Dallas residents with ties to the school district are leading Support Our Public Schools, which DISD trustee Mike Morath helped start. Morath did not return calls for comment. “Mike Morath knew that we were all concerned about the future of Dallas ISD, so he suggested that we sit down [and] talk. It took one meeting for ... us to agree that we needed to initiate this discussion and start this grass-roots effort,” Jeronimo Valdez, a Dallas attorney and the group’s treasurer, said in a prepared statement. Stephen Jones, a tax attorney and the group’s secretary, said in a statement Saturday, “This process allows Dallas ISD to customize operation of our schools in a manner that suits our kids, instead of the one-size-fits-all approach that is currently dictated by Austin.” None of the five board members for Support Our Public Schools agreed to be interviewed about the initiative. In addition to Valdez and Jones, they are Wilton Hollins, the board’s president, who served on DISD’s star employee commission; Louisa Meyer, chair of the Dallas ISD Citizens Budget Review Commission; and former Dallas City Council member Gary Griffith. Arnold was also unavailable Saturday to talk about how home rule could reshape the district. He is supporting the effort through Action Now Initiative, a nonprofit that he and his wife, Laura, created. Organizers say the group has five to 10 financial backers. State records show the group was formed in November as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) nonprofit. It started meeting about a month ago. On Friday evening, Support Our Public Schools sent an email to the district’s trustees to explain the home-rule initiative.
3/5/2014 10:12 AM
Group pushes for election to remake Dallas ISD as freer home-rule district...
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DISD board President Eric Cowan called a meeting for Monday so trustees could discuss the state law for home-rule districts. He said he wanted to learn more about the law and the group’s intentions. “I want to have the opportunity to talk to my board first and figure out as a group what we want to do,” he said. Lew Blackburn, the DISD board’s first vice president, also wants to know the intent of the home-rule push. “What’s their primary concern?” he said. “Is it the board, the superintendent?” A charter could free the district from some state mandates. The state has a cookie-cutter approach to the roughly 1,000 school districts when they are not all alike, Support Our Public Schools said. The group said specific changes would be left to a commission of community members to decide. But the group mentioned some possibilities, such as lengthening the school day and school year and increasing elementary school-class sizes beyond state requirements. The district’s funding mechanisms would not change, but the charter could give the district more control over how the money is used. For example, the district could develop a curriculum that’s cheaper to implement than the one mandated by the state. Support Our Public Schools has the attention of top city leaders, including Mayor Mike Rawlings, who invited Cowan to meet with him, Morath and others last month to discuss the effort. Rawlings’ spokesman Sam Merten said the mayor wasn’t available for comment Saturday. District structure To succeed, the initiative would need heavy community support and an ability to sway thousands of voters. One major question would be how district leadership would be structured under a charter. The current setup is a nine-member elected school board that hires the superintendent to oversee day-to-day operations. Dallas ISD trustees, who are not paid for their work on the board, represent specific areas of the district. They are the bridge between their communities and the district administration. Because of their roles, they are also often targets of public criticism. For years the district has struggled to improve student achievement. There have been gains, but student test results still lag behind statewide averages. Reform plans have come and gone. The current one under Miles, Destination 2020, promises dramatic improvements. Its success so far won’t be determined until the release of state exam results this summer. David Thompson, former chief counsel at the Texas Education Agency, said state law doesn’t outline what specific policies and procedures home-rule districts can enact. It only details which state and federal mandates must be followed. For example, the district cannot discriminate, must meet student attendance requirements and must maintain bilingual education. “If it’s not on the list of what you have to do, it gives you flexibility,” Thompson said. Home-rule districts still have to follow rules on funding, financial obligations, extracurricular activities, accountability, student admission and the Teacher Retirement System. And students still have to take the state’s STAAR exam. But the district could have tremendous freedom in other areas. For example, elected trustees could be replaced with appointed officers. The state’s minimum salary schedule and requirements for teacher contracts would not have to be followed. Charter requirements A 1995 state law grants the home-rule option for school districts. It works this way: A petition must have signatures from 5 percent of registered voters or support from two-thirds of school board members. If one of these requirements is met, the school board would have to appoint a 15-member charter commission, which would be considered a “governmental body.” The commission must reflect the district’s diversity. And most of the commissioners have to be parents of children in public school. At least 25 percent must be classroom teachers. After being appointed, commissioners would have one year to draft a proposed charter. It could cover various areas, including the governance structure of the district and campuses. Support Our Public Schools wants to meet all requirements in time to put a proposed charter on the November ballot alongside
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Group pushes for election to remake Dallas ISD as freer home-rule district...
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gubernatorial and congressional races. The deadline to get it on the ballot is Aug. 18. The timing is important because a minimum voter turnout of 25 percent is required — or about 123,000 people — and the race for Texas governor is sure to attract voters. The governor’s race historically draws about 400,000 voters in Dallas County. High bar to clear The high turnout required to create a home-rule district charter could be one reason no attempts — until now — have been made to start one. If Support Our Public Schools gets enough signatures to move forward, the group would ultimately have to persuade a substantial number of Dallas voters to approve a proposed charter in November. Rena Honea, president of the Alliance-AFT teachers association in Dallas, voiced concerns about creating a home-rule charter. She said the issue could be contentious and could affect class sizes and how teachers work. The state requirements for a teacher planning period and professional development are among those not guaranteed under a charter system. “I think some of the safeguards built into law and district policies for the students and educators could become lost,” she said. Some conservative groups and politicians have long championed the idea of home-rule districts. Chuck DeVore, a vice president at the influential conservative think tank the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said the effort in Dallas ISD could pave the way for others. DeVore said, however, that the home-rule district law doesn’t go far enough in granting freedom to districts. “We think that this needs to be expanded. These home-rule school districts don’t have enough flexibility,” he said. DeVore said the effort by Support Our Public Schools should be taken seriously because of Arnold’s involvement. Arnold, a billionaire who graduated from DISD’s Hillcrest High School, has donated millions through his foundation to charter schools and contributed $10 million to Head Start to keep it open during the recent government shutdown. “They tend to accomplish at a higher degree what they set out to do than the average person with just a lot of money,” DeVore said. “They would bring a level of expertise to the effort. I don’t see why it would make sense to write a check and walk away from it.”
[email protected],
[email protected] Follow Tawnell D. Hobbs on Twitter at @tawnell and Matthew Haag at @matthewhaag. AT A GLANCE: SUPPORT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS A new organization called Support Our Public Schools wants to convert Dallas ISD into a home-rule district, which could change the way the district is governed. THE GOAL The organization wants the community to have more control over how the district is run and to get it out from under some state mandates. With voter approval, Dallas ISD would become a type of charter school system with more freedom than regular school districts. WHO’S BEHIND IT Dallas ISD trustee Mike Morath, who represents District 2 in East Dallas, launched discussions about the home-rule option. The organization Support Our Public Schools was formed with a five-member board: Wilton Hollins, board president for Support Our Public Schools. A graduate of South Oak Cliff High School, he served on Dallas ISD’s star employee commission, which encouraged the district to overhaul its human resources department. He is human resources director at EmCare, which offers physician management services. Jeronimo Valdez, a trial lawyer and founder at Valdez Washington LLP. He graduated from Spruce High School. Stephen Jones, a lawyer and former public accountant at Ernst & Young. He graduated from Lincoln High School. Louisa Meyer, chair of the Dallas ISD Citizens Budget Review Commission. She is a retired account manager for an oil and gas
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Group pushes for election to remake Dallas ISD as freer home-rule district...
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company. One of her sons and her daughter-in-law teach and coach in Dallas ISD. Gary Griffith, a former Dallas City Council member. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, and his grandchildren attend Dallas ISD schools. FUNDING The group is financially supported by five to 10 people who mostly chose to remain anonymous. The exception is John Arnold, a Hillcrest High School graduate. The Houston billionaire is providing support through a nonprofit, the Action Now Initiative, that he and his wife, Laura, created. Arnold is a former Enron energy trader who built a lucrative hedge fund after the Houston’s company collapsed. He closed the fund at age 38 after making a reported $3 billion. He is active in philanthropy through the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which has financially supported education reform, the expansion of charter schools and cutting public pensions. TEXAS’ HOME-RULE LAW A 1995 state law allows for home-rule school districts if they are approved by local voters. A home-rule district would have more freedom in its governance, structure and operation. When the law was enacted, several Texas districts considered the home-rule option, but none reached the petition stage. THE PROCESS The march to becoming a home-rule district is dictated by Texas law. First, a petition must be signed by at least 5 percent of the a district’s eligible voters; in Dallas ISD, that would be 24,459 people. On Tuesday, Support Our Public Schools will ask voters at primary election polling sites to sign a petition that says: “I know that the purpose of this petition is to request that the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Independent School District appoint a Charter Commission to frame a home-rule school district charter for Dallas ISD.” If the enough signatures are verified, DISD trustees would be required to name 15 residents to a commission. The members must would have to reflect the district’s racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic diversity. A majority would have to be parents of school-age children in public school. At least 25 percent would have to be classroom teachers. The commissioners would craft a charter that would describe how the new district would operate. The proposed charter would be sent to the Texas education commissioner, who would have 30 days to review it for compliance and make recommendations. Support Our Public Schools would like to put the charter before voters in November. At least 25 percent of eligible voters in Dallas ISD, or about 123,000 people, would have to participate in the election. THE CHARTER A home-rule district would have to comply with state requirements regarding funding, financial obligations, extracurricular activities, accountability measures, criminal offenses, student attendance and the Teacher Retirement System. It must would also have to follow federal laws. The Texas law spells out what must be in a home-rule charter: A description of the governing structure of the district and campuses A description of the district’s educational program Student performance requirements Elementary school class-size limits Qualifications for professional employees Procedures for student and employee health and safety
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Group pushes for election to remake Dallas ISD as freer home-rule district...
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A description of the annual budget process A description of the annual audit process Reasons the charter might be suspended, revoked or placed on probation Matthew Haag and Tawnell D. Hobbs Did you see something wrong in this story, or something missing? Let us know.
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Tawnell
4 days ago
We will have more on this issue in tomorrow's newspaper and online.
Reply Share 3 replies Ed Blair
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3 days ago
Too late for those who voted early. Should of had two articles, one prior to early elections. Reply Share 1 reply matthewhaag
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3 days ago
Ed, this isn't on the ballot yet. It's just a petition that voters will be asked to sign outside the polling locations. Reply Share Sandy Kay
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3 days ago
That's good, because what's known so far about this initiative is far too vague for people to be adding their name to a petition. It's puzzling why "None of the five board members for Support Our Public Schools agreed to be interviewed about the initiative" and yet expect to gather signatures for a petition this Tuesday. Reply Share Scott Presnall
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4 days ago
There's nothing in this article that describes how this benefits students, teachers, or taxpayers. Reply Share 3 replies rtXC1
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3 days ago
Possibly more school days.. Not restricted to pay teachers off the state salary schedule (which is ridiculously low in its own right)... Huge benefits..... Reply Share 2 replies miss edu
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3 days ago
DISD is not limited to the state salary schedule, they just can't go below it. These people are not trying to wrest control of DISD to be able to pay the teachers more! Reply Share Scott Presnall
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2 hours ago
I'd strongly consider betting my next month's pay check against there being an overall increase to what DISD is already paying. That's not how profit-minded people think, and don't delude yourselves into thinking there is no profit motive behind this. The teats of Texas are generous to those who can get in line. Reply Share Carlos Quintanilla
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3 days ago
3/5/2014 10:12 AM
