Here's What's Hot On CBS11TV.COM:
Print
Nov 19, 2008 5:48 pm US/Central
DISD Debates Extending Board Trustee Terms
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
The Dallas school board is set to extend trustee terms of service from three years to four. Wednesday, the proposal met a headwind of opposition.
It's been one controversy after another for the Dallas Independent School District this year and some say board members shouldn't get more time to do anything else.
Some of the issues facing the DISD - protests over jobs, a multi-million dollar deficit, and a backlash from parents and voters. To put it simply, the Dallas school board has faced a tumultuous past three months.
Now, as the board decides whether or not to extend service terms teacher union leader Dale Kaiser says the decision is clear. "The right thing at this point, considering everything that has gone wrong with this district, is to not try and extend terms," the National Education Association, Dallas, member said.
Under the state education code, trustees can change the length of terms, but it must be done no later than December 31, 2007.
Confusion comes with another section of the code that many call the "Dallas ISD" rule. It states, the term rules don't apply if the school district is in a county of two million people or more and student enrollment is more than 125,000. The DISD meets those conditions.
Dallas School Board President Jack Lowe says the second rule provides legal clearance to expand trustee terms to four years, and that there's substantive purpose for the extension. "It's a good thing to do. We just can't stop doing good things. We can't stop moving," he explained.
Clearly, there is a difference of opinion on the district's legal ability to extend the school board terms and there's a wide divide over whether the trustees should do it.
The teachers union says the elections division of the secretary of state's office sides with them... The deadline for extending service terms has expired.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
