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Oct 30, 2008 10:22 pm US/Central
DISD Trustees Call For Confidence Vote Of Hinojosa
Survey: DISD Teachers Have Little Faith In Chief
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Three Dallas School Board trustees called for a vote of confidence of Superintendant Dr. Michael Hinojosa. The vote is tentatively set for Monday afternoon.
A "No" confidence vote by the entire board could possibly force Hinojosa to voluntarily resign. If he chooses not to step down, it could pave the way for a bitter battle and a future termination vote.
The Dallas School Board met behind closed doors Thursday to discuss the job the superintendent's performance. There has been growing concern that the board and teachers have little confidence in his leadership abilities.
The three school board Trustees calling for Monday's special "confidence vote" meeting are: Ron Price, Carla Ranger and Lew Blackburn.
Hinojosa became superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District is April 2005. Since the unveiling of a record budget deficit last month and the elimination of hundreds of DISD jobs, some groups have called for the resignation of Hinojosa.
But as of Thursday night, the superintendent has said he will not step down.
Protesters wearing red gathered outside Thursday's meeting. DISD teachers also attended a public board meeting to make sure any new positions made available will be filled by teachers who were recently laid off.
Recently, 60 new positions became available and the district said 57 were filed by laid off teachers.
The release of a confidence survey Thursday, completed by the second-largest teacher's association, offers signs of more trouble.
The National Education Association represents 2,000 of the 11,000 teachers in the district. A total of 428 teachers were asked if they had confidence in Hinojosa's leadership. A resounding 94 percent said "no."
In regards to his management of the district, the no confidence vote was at 96 percent.
"It's no surprise that so many people are upset with the trustees and the superintendent, but it's more than just this situation," said Dale Kaiser with NEA Dallas. "This goes back two, three years ago."
Kaiser said the school board also received poor marks in the survey.
Some say the survey says everything, but other say critics are piling on the complaints.
"We need to look at the accomplishments of this superintendent," said Jesse Diaz, LULAC Pleasant Grove. "We now have more recognized schools than we ever had. Our public schools are better off now than ever."
However, there is a growing number of teachers who feel Hinojosa must step down.
"We have some very angry teachers that he's still working and they are now," said Rene Honea with Alliance AFT. "They have to provide for their families as well."
Adding more pressure to Hinojosa, DISD is still operating in the red.
Stay with CBS11TV.com for the latest developments on this story.
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