DALLAS ISD

Remember James Dante Kings, the DISD senior who was found dead on Interstate 35 in Austin while on a school field trip in late March? His parents spoke at last night's board meeting.

Mr. Kings implored the district to work with he and his wife to come up with field-trip guidelines to keep the same thing from happening to someone else's child. (Mr. Kings believes that negligence of adults on the trip and bad security contributed to the death, which police say was a hit-and-run that occured late at night).

But it was Mrs. Kings' speech that tugged at the heartstrings. She made an impassioned plea for the district to award their son a diploma -- he was just a couple of months away from graduation and had passed his TAKS exams.

The Kings don't seem to be getting anywhere with DISD in receiving the diploma -- and they say their calls are ignored. I asked DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander for comment on the Kings' situation, and he said he's checking on it and will get back to me.

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** As predicted, trustees extended their terms last night. Tod Robberson likens the move to that of Third World dictators. CBS 11 and WFAA filed reports. The Observer also gives us a blow-by-blow.

** Mr. Teacher deciphers report card codes for parents.

** A Fort Worth charter school closes long after my colleagues exposed its cheating ways.

** Two whistleblowers sue TEA.

** Colleen McCain Nelson revisits a murdered mother and community educator who was making a difference.

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

It's done. The DISD board voted 7-2 to extend their terms from three years to four at tonight's meeting. Trustee Carla Ranger, who has been outspoken in her opposition to extend the terms, voted no. Trustee Adam Medrano also voted no, saying the timing was bad.

At the meeting, Ms. Ranger relentlessly questioned DISD attorneys on whether it was legal. The attorneys didn't budge -- and said that it was.

The meeting was anything but boring. The audience kept up constant boos and outbursts -- causing board president Jack Lowe to threaten to remove some folks.

The change approved by trustees means no DISD board elections in 2009. So trustees Leigh Ann Ellis, Ron Price and Edwin Flores -- who would have had to run for re-election in May 2009 -- now will run in May 2010.

Read more about the meeting in tomorrow's newspaper.

Trustees are to approve his $258,000 salary at tonight's meeting. The district calls Throm, 58, "a game changer" and one of the best school finance experts in the state. Read the release here.

We'll post more as we learn it ...

Dallas school trustees are scheduled to vote on whether to extend their terms from three years to four at tonight's board meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at 3700 Ross Ave. The agenda item for the terms is no longer on the board's consent agenda -- and is its own separate issue -- so expect to hear from trustees on the matter.

It's looking like the majority of trustees want to extend the terms -- but that doesn't mean they'll get to do so without hearing from trustee Carla Ranger who believes it would be a violation of state law.

But board president Jack Lowe said yesterday that attorneys inside and outside of DISD have looked over all the legalities and say it's legal.

There's been a lot said on this. Check out an earlier blog post here. And click here to review documents that an outside DISD attorney provided to the board that basically says they can legally extend the terms.

Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas (a typical pro-DISD blog site) also is weighing in on the issue -- and surprise, surprise, they're supporting Carla Ranger.

Also before the meeting, expect to see a play in opposition to Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and a press conference by pastors who support him.

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** The Observer's Buzz column wonders if it should crash Saturday's district party for its foreign hires (some of whom might be caught up in the SSN probe).

** You can give trustee Flores an earful on Saturday, if you want.

** Carla Ranger continues to contend that tonight's vote to extend trustee terms to four years is not legit. Is she right? Frankly, I don't think it even matters, although she's putting up a good fight.

** Jim Schutze asks if breaking up DISD is really the best thing to do.

** Statewide news: Jocks to get course credit. The State Board of Ed is still wrestling with evolution.

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

DISD is asking for an independent review of its recently ended practice of giving false social security numbers to foreign citizens who were hired to work as teachers.

The district has asked former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins of Fish & Richardson, P.C. to review the practice -- how it started, who decided to do it, and if any federal statutes were violated. Coggins is expected to complete his work prior to the end of December.

Go to the jump to read the district's news release.

DISD school board president Jack Lowe said the board will vote to extend terms from three years to four at Thursday's meeting. (And there's every indication that there are enough votes for it to pass.) Mr. Lowe said lawyers inside and outside DISD have reviewed the legality of extending the terms and they say it can be done.

But some folks in the community, including Dallas NAACP president Casey Thomas, are in an uproar over this. They don't believe that DISD can legally extend the terms because of a 2007 law that gave school district's a deadline of Dec. 31, 2007 to do so. But DISD is using a 2003 law, specifically created for the district, to move forward with the vote.

Mr. Thomas contacted an attorney with the Secretary of State's office who said DISD cannot legally extend the terms. But lawyers at the Texas Education Agency say it's their opinion that the terms can be extended. (I just got off the phone with Secretary of State spokesman Randall Dillard who would only say that his agency will touch base with TEA to "get more understanding" on the Senate Bill that DISD is using to vote on the terms. His agency had only been looking at the law that provided the deadline.)

As I've said in the comment section of an earlier post, it would likely take the Texas Attorney General's Office to render an official opinion to get to the bottom of this.

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** The SSN dustup pushes our editorial board closer to asking for Hinojosa's resignation: He "should have on his desk today the resignations of any administrator culpable in this scam. And if he will not or cannot, he should do us all a favor and pink-slip himself." Yikes.

** WFAA reports on the proposal to extend trustee terms. Two laws might be in conflict on this issue.

** New study: "Students in schools that use Reading First, a program at the core of the No Child Left Behind law, scored no better on comprehension tests than students in similar schools that do not get the funding."

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

Dalton Sherman -- the 10-year-old DISD student whose oratory ability made him an instant hit -- appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday. The audio on the video that I found on YouTube isn't that good, but check it out here. And if you missed Dalton on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, click here to see it.

A sidenote: The interest in Dalton keeps growing. I received an e-mail from a literary agent who wonders if Dalton is interested in writing a book. Also, one of my co-workers has fielded calls from talent agents interested in Dalton.

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** Our edit board wants more parents involved in schools, especially those like "Kristy." She's 31 and raising eight children by three different men, all of whom are AWOL from their kids. Question: Why exactly do we expect schools to be able to level that playing field?

** Unworthy Bum uses DISD missteps to ask Rep. Allen Vaught what he's all about.

** A local superintendent is losing his job, in part because his district hired unbudgeted teachers whose salaries put the district into a deficit. Wanna guess who I'm talking about?

** Mr. Teacher nabs a third grader forger, who he also warned "against using the social security numbers of Pennsylvania residents."

** Teachers, it could be worse. You could be in Mexico.

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

After a one-week hiatus the Comment of the Week returns with a winner plucked from a post about the inadvertent tossing out of textbooks.

The "miscommunication" out at Burnet Elementary sure did raise the hackles of many readers. But a few blog readers chimed in with a dose of classroom-level reality, which is always sure to get serious consideration for a coveted Golden COW.

There's been much chatter about whether DISD trustees can extend their terms from three years to four. Some folks have cited Texas Education Code, Chapter 11.059 that gave school districts a deadline of Dec. 31, 2007, to extend their terms to four years.

Well, there is another law at work here that allows DISD trustees to extend their terms beyond that date. A 2003 law authored by Senator Royce West allows school districts meeting certain criteria to extend their terms to four years.

OK, for those in the know, your eyebrows just went up a notch -- Senator West is an attorney who does business with DISD. And while West's bill may not be in response to DISD missing the Dec. 31, 2007 deadline -- his bill went into effect well before then -- it is tailored to DISD.

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** Steve Blow craves reality, not DISD "fairy tales."

** The weekend protesters set up at Hinojosa's house Saturday.

** Carla Ranger publishes an e-mail from a state election official saying the recent push to extend trustee terms violates state law. BTW, our edit board says this is a bad idea too.

** The fake SSN story made the NY Times and too many blogs to link to here.

** Teachers, your pension fund is drying up. Hey, mine is too!

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

The Social Security Administration has decided to look into DISD's practice of issuing fake social security numbers to foreign citizens to determine if a formal investigation is needed.

If you missed the story, click here.

Wes Davis, social security spokesman in Dallas, said today that the review would look at whether there was any criminal intent by the Dallas Independent School District and if the issue is something that the U.S. Attorney's office would be interested in prosecuting. He said he's not heard of any other school districts issuing false social security numbers.

Do you all know of anyone who has been affected by this practice?

Stay tuned for more...

Watch out Barack Obama! Dallas school student Dalton Sherman is stealing the spotlight at 4 p.m. Monday when he appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The little tyke has become an instant star since he delivered a motivational speech at the Dallas school district's back-to-school kickoff for employees in August.

Dalton, a fifth-grade student at Charles Rice Learning Center, also has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. A YouTube video of his performance has received more than 340,000 views. And check out the DMN video of Dalton.

On Oprah, Dalton will appear on a segment titled, "Oprah's Search for the World's Smartest and Most Talented Kids." It will air on WFAA (Channel 8).

(A Q & A with Dalton's mother after the jump)

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** DISD gave some workers other people's Social Security numbers to help get them on the payroll faster. Sheesh.

** CBS 11 attended the RIF gripe session yesterday. So did WFAA. Fewer than 40 people showed up.

** The Observer calls out D Mag on its recent DISD special report.

** Mr. Teacher handed out "piles" of rubber bands to his students, and lived to blog about it.

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

Full report here.

UPDATED 4:39 P.M.: With district brass taking a machete to spending, you'd think campus leaders would be scrimping and saving and making use of every available resource. Right?

So what's up with Burnet Elementary School filling four dumpsters with hundreds and hundreds of Open Court SRA reading workbooks? Many of the books were still in cellophane, meaning they landed in the dumpsters before they ever made it into a classroom.

Witness the carnage, courtesy of reporter Dan X. McGraw ...

More pics and the district's response after the jump ...

What the media, blogs and others are saying today.

** Any minute now, Frankie Wong will have the book thrown at him, if yesterday's sentencing of his partner-in-crime is any indication.

** Steve Blow says schools are succeeding despite district-level shenanigans.

** A physics professor laments the lack of work ethic he sees in his students, and cites policies like DISD's recent changes to grading rules as a reason why.

** Carla Ranger says the Secretary of State has told her that trustees cannot extend their terms to four years. That train left the station a year ago, they told her.

Got a link we missed or an item for the Daily Dish? Send it our way.

DISD employees who were RIF'd will have a chance to tell top officials whether they have a beef with the layoff process at lunchtime today, according to Alliance/AFT.

Yes, you read it correctly. Between 12:30 - 4:00 p.m, laid off employees will get to vent in person to an unnamed trustee and an unnamed administrator. The unusual session is not an appeal of job terminations. But it's a chance for laid off workers to get a few things on the record, such as how academic achievement is affected when hundreds of teachers and other employees are are