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Sep 27, 2008 12:43 pm US/Central
Texas Education Chief Warns Dallas To Fix Budget
DALLAS (CBS 11 News/ AP) ―
The Dallas Independent School District's multi-million dollar budget mess has caught the eye of the Texas Education Agency.
The Texas education chief has threatened to step in if the Dallas school district can't quickly resolve a shocking $84 million budget shortfall discovered recently.
The warning from Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott came Friday, a day after the Dallas Independent School District board postponed for the second time a vote on Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's rescue plan. The proposal would cut 1,209 positions, including 675 teachers.
Scott said he wants to give the district time to deal with the crisis, but that "there is a sense of urgency." He declined to discuss his options, but a TEA spokeswoman said the most likely step would be appointing a financial conservator with the power to overrule the board and superintendent.
"He's given us an opportunity to deal with this matter," said Dr. Hinojosa. "We have to deal with it soon or otherwise we won't have the opportunity to deal with it. Someone outside will make those decisions for us."
An official with the TEA said the state could designate a special monitor who would preside over school district business and overrule any action of the school board.
Trustees said they don't feel pressured by Scott, and they told Hinojosa on Thursday that they want all nonteaching positions explored before they cut teachers.
"I doubt the commissioner of education wants any school board in the state of Texas to make a decision without the facts," said trustee Ron Price. "I would think the commissioner would want the board to do whatever it can to ensure we retain as many teachers as possible."
The TEA has taken over management of school districts before. Most recently in the North Texas area, they took over the Willmer-Hutchins district. But DISD officials don't want that to happen in this case.
"The TEA should be concerned. Everybody is concerned," said DISD Trustee Carla Ranger. "But right now, it is up to the board of trustees of Dallas ISD and the district to look at this problem, to fix it and to use all energies to make sure it is resolved."
School officials originally said they found a $64 million shortfall in the 2007-08 budget, but since then have said the shortage in the current budget could reach $84 million without cuts. The problems have been blamed on failures by the district's finance and accounting offices.
Besides cuts, the district is exploring a recommendation by Hinojosa to shift the salaries of 300 teachers to federal grants. Steve Korby, the district's chief financial officer, said those positions should have been funded by grants in the first place, but the state and the school board have questioned whether federal rules allow for the move.
"Federal funds are supposed to supplement what we do in the state and local level, so they might run into some issues there," Scott said.
The TEA has not issued any formal letters to the district. The board will meet again on the issue next week.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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