School safety, teacher retention and student success are key focuses for candidates as they compete for two seats on Dallas' school board.
The new trustees, along with veteran representatives, will work with Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde to steer Texas' second-largest school district as it strives to improve academic performance and manage a nearly $1.9 billion budget.
The Board of Supervisors sets DISD's priorities for serving the district's approximately 140,000 students, passes legislative agendas and evaluates the effectiveness of the superintendent. Election day is May 4th. Early voting is currently open until April 30th.
District 1 Trustee Edwin Flores is resigning to pursue a seat on the University of Dallas Board of Trustees. District 9 Trustee Justin Henry, the current board president, is also not seeking re-election. Both support the candidate they want to succeed them.
Dan Misiche, who represents District 3, which includes northeast Dallas, is seeking re-election unopposed.
District 1
Three people are seeking seats in the northwest Dallas 1st District.
Flores supports law firm partner Lance Curry, who has two children in DISD. Curry has worked with multiple organizations supporting public education, including Reading Partners and EducateDallas. Curry said it's important to have a parent's perspective on the board.
Curry has worked with Flores over the years to understand the district's direction and priorities, including being appointed a trustee of the Racial Equity Advisory Committee.
“He has the right experience, the right attitude, the right understanding,” Flores said of Curry.
Curry said he would like to see the district do additional work to help students understand what happens after they graduate and set goals based on their success. He supports one of the district's key reforms, the Teacher Excellence Initiative, a pay-for-performance model.
“If we have to tolerate some turnover, we want to keep it really effective.” [teachers] And we'll let others find the space they need so the kids can continue to learn,” Curry said.
He is running against non-profit field director Maureen Milligan and Chris Roberts, who works in information technology.
As school districts grapple with budget challenges and declining enrollment, Milligan urges school leaders to pause and assess what's working and what isn't.
“We really need a comprehensive assessment of what programs are working, how our facilities, investments, staff and other systems can actually be strategically designed. ” she said.
Mr Milligan acknowledged that could mean fewer schools in the future. DISD enrollment decreased by more than 15,000 students from 2018 to 2019.
She participates in numerous civic organizations, including the City of Dallas 2024 Bond Task Force. As a trustee, she said she would increase the number of parents and community members involved in campus-level decision-making.
Prior to his career in technology, Mr. Roberts served as a middle school and high school band director. He is an advocate of additional music education, more restrictive technology policies, and stronger discipline.
“If we have strong discipline, it really becomes a recruiting tool,” Roberts said. He added that DISD wants to be known as “a place where we value discipline.” Our ship is secure. ”
He said his idea would be met with a lot of “noise” initially, but that it would be in the best interest of the district.
DISD has overhauled its discipline practices in recent years with the goal of keeping more kids on campus and addressing underlying behavioral issues. The district wanted to address the negative effects of exclusionary discipline, which removes students from classes and disproportionately impacts students of color.
district 9
Four candidates are seeking to represent District 9, which includes South Dallas and parts of Downtown, Pleasant Grove, Deep Ellum, Uptown and East Dallas.
Henry supports Ed Turner, an insurance broker and longtime DISD volunteer who previously sought the same seat.
Henry said Turner continues to think about what's best for the children and is able to build relationships even with people she disagrees with. Turner is the only candidate with a large campaign fund. Latest online reports said he had about $16,000 in cash.
Student safety is a top priority for prospective students. A DISD student injured a fellow student in the shooting at Wilmer Hutchins High School earlier this month, and how a teenage boy made it onto campus despite using a metal detector and a clear backpack. There are growing concerns about whether he brought a gun with him.
Turner, whose daughter attends DISD schools, said she would like to see more focus on protecting students from fentanyl.
“Every teacher, everyone in the building needs to be trained to identify overdoses,” he said, adding that drugs to quickly reverse opioid overdoses should be readily available. .
One opponent, Oralia Alonso, a parent instructor and liaison at Ann Richards STEAM Academy, said she supports increasing mental health resources.
“The district has programs available,” she said. “But will they reach all schools? Do parents have that information?”
Candidates have a variety of ideas for improving teacher retention.
Garland ISD art teacher Daon Boulanger-Chatman said she supports the overall idea of the Teacher Excellence Initiative, but wants to change the system so educators don't feel like they're competing against each other. .
“This is not to say that the TEI program is not effective in many ways. It is,” he said. “However, the language and selection criteria presented to teachers is not encouraging for morale.”
He also would like to see educators who win the “Teacher of the Year” award given a seat on the board.
Community organizer LaCassia Wallace suggested moving to a four-day school week to attract successful teachers. Fridays could be used for remedial academic work for students in need, she said. While some smaller districts, including Anna, have moved to shorter weeks, larger metropolitan districts are moving away from this model.
“We are in a fiscal crisis, so how can we look at incentives for teachers and staff?” she said. “Do what you need to do and give our teachers a chance to rest.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens our coverage and conversations about pressing education issues that matter to the future of North Texas.
DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative supported by Bobby and Lottie Lyle, Community Foundation of Texas, Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Dee Dee Rhodes, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Meadows Foundation, Murrell Foundation, Solutions is supported by. Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sidney Smith Hicks, University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control over Education Lab's journalism.
