• Font Size    

Here's What's Hot On CBS11TV.COM:

Affidavit: Dad Threw Baby Into Lake
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

DISD Will Transfer 900 Students From Spruce HS

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +
Jun 26, 2008 11:06 pm US/Central

DISD Will Transfer 900 Students From Spruce HS

Academically Unacceptable Campus To Be Open For Freshman, Seniors Only

Compiled From Staff Reports
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ― Emotions ran high at Thursday night's Dallas Independent School District Board meeting. 

One of the more contentious issues on the agenda was the future of Spruce High School, which has been deemed academically unacceptable for the last four years.

District officials voted to restart the school as a freshmen center, moving 900 students to other schools. The plan is called 'Option A.'

The 10th and 11th graders from Spruce High School will be sent to two other schools in south Dallas, leaving Spruce open to ninth graders and seniors.

Board members say this decision is an effort to try and improve the test scores at Spruce and to also try to prevent the Texas Education Agency from completely closing down the school, which could still happen in the 2009-2010 school year.

The President of the H. Grady Spruce Student Council gave an impassioned speech about the future of her high school.

Angelica Perez said students met with DISD administrators and had come up with an alternative plan for Spruce High. She recommended the district divide administrators into teams and follow the students during the school year from one grade to the next. Perez said that would help the administrators focus on students who get behind and address the problem immediately.  

Perez was emotional as she said, "As a student body, we are desperately trying to save our school."

"We are asking the board to oppose Plan A and show the students, parents and community that you believe in us. Because when you say that you want to move students away from Spruce, you're saying that you have given up on us." 

Click here to listen to more of the emotional discussion during the meeting.

The board also unanimously approved its budget for 2008-2009. That means that support staff employees will not get the pay increase they demanded. Most of the district's employees, including teachers, will receive a small pay raise. The average pay raise for teachers is 1.5 percent and will be effective July 1.

An amendment to the budget also passed. It calls for the use of funds from Dallas County Schools to be used to give DISD support staff employees a bonus if the agency implements a tax increase. Dallas County Schools supplies bus transportation for DISD and other school districts in the county.

About 50 DISD employees attended the meeting. They remained standing in the audience as others spoke out in favor of a pay raise for support personnel.

In the budget, the district did not give pay raises to school support workers such as clerks office managers and teacher assistants. According to the teachers' union Alliance AFT, at least 3,000 employees are affected by the cuts.

"For them not to receive an increase, it's not a good proposal for a district this large." said George Rangel, Alliance AFT. "There's got to be a better way to treat the employees, especially when we've seen the scores that are coming in. This is a slap in the face for the employees."

Some of the teachers and support staff went to district headquarters to protest before the meeting began. Most wore black clothing. One person carried a sign reading, "Experience makes a difference!"

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Popular Slideshows On CBS11TV.COM

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Education

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Stations Group of Texas L.P. All Rights Reserved.