Texas
– Dallas ISD Home Rule Initiative
Why is Dallas trying to go the charter
school/district route? The given reasons
from the groups trying to do this are to get around some of the state
regulations that supposedly inhibit learning and teaching in the district. This option was included in state regulations
to give districts the chance to go the charter school route. There are a series of steps to follow to use
this method and because of that this option has not been tried in Texas. So Dallas leaders are trying a grand
experiment. But is it really an
experiment or rather a way to take over the district for their own reasons?
The district has a large budget, approximately $ 1.5
billion. They also have a large number
of teachers and personnel, around 10,000 teachers and 10,000 support
personnel. What will happen to all these
real people? My guess is that there will
be a reduction in personnel in the district with a proportionate decrease in
expenses. Plus, many experienced
teachers will either leave or retire which is probably one of the goals of this
experiment. The local teacher unions,
really associations since Texas is a right-to-work state with no contracts
between districts and unions, have gone to court to slow this process down.
Who will control all these funds currently used for
the district? What expenses will be cut
so other projects can be implemented?
Who will make decisions concerning the budget and personnel? These are all questions that need to be
addressed before this really big change is undertaken in Dallas.
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