DISD Board President Election Was Un-American
Categories: Dallas, Education, Featured
Written By: Shawn Williams
“One person, one vote.” It’s simple really. This is a basic principle of any democratic body.
Now the words I used in the title of this post are a serious charge. At least they are in my book. Dallas South is not a shock blog, but if we get people stirred up from time to time that’s fine. Yet what I witnessed…or should I say listened to, last night at the DISD board meeting made me sick to my stomach.
I was in a time crunch on Thursday night, but I wanted to stop by the DISD board meeting because I knew there was a lot on the agenda; electing new officers, deciding what to do with the magnet schools and academies, and determining whether or not Board President Jack Lowe put a hit out on Carla Ranger’s career.
I arrived at the meeting about 10 minutes early and needless to say there were about 200 people outside either waiting to get in or protesting DISD’s position on the magnet schools. There was a loudspeaker set up, so I chose to listen in the courtyard rather than try to fight my way in with media credentials.
From the outset, Carla Ranger was pressing Lowe and her colleagues. Ranger made a motion to remove items related to the magnet schools from the agenda due to lack of sufficient time of the board to educate themselves on the matter.
Ms. Ranger correctly cited Robert’s Rules of Order, to ask that the items be dropped before the board adopted the agenda for the evening. However, DISD policy (apparently) has been that the agenda of the board president and superintendent is not adopted before each meeting. So while I think Ms. Ranger’s suggestion was a good one, I was not opposed to the “board’s” decision to move on with the agenda as previously crafted.
A DISD lawyer made an interesting comment at that point. He said “DISD Policy has precedence over Robert’s Rules of Order.” That was fine too, until the board tried to use Robert’s Rules of Order to hide behind their un-American officer elections.
“it is necessary for the tellers to see that no member votes twice.” (Robert’s Rules of Order)
The election went down so fast, if you did not have a good grasp on proper meeting procedure, it would have been easy too miss what actually happened. But in college we used Robert’s Rules much more effectively at our frat meeting than any attempts I heard around the horseshoe on Thursday night. Here’s what happened in the election of DISD Board President:
Jack Lowe excused himself from the chair.
Lowe passed the gavel to Michael Hinojosa.
Hinojosa opened the floor for nominations for the position of Board President.
Dr. Edwin Flores, Adam Medrano, and Dr. Lew Blackburn were nominated.
Hinojosa announced that votes be cast until someone was elected by majority.
Hinojosa called for a vote for Dr. Flores
Jack Lowe, Dr. Flores, Jerome Garza, and Nancy Bingham voted for Flores
Hinojosa called for a vote for Mr. Medrano
Jack Lowe, Dr. Edwin Flores, Mr. Medrano Jerome Garza, Nancy Bingham voted for Medrano
Hinojosa declared a majority vote for Mr. Medrano and declared him as the new Board President (if you don’t believe me check the DISD website, it has already been changed).
Leigh Ann Ellis, Carla Ranger, Ron Price, and Dr. Lew Blackburn are not even recorded in the record as casting a vote.
Has anyone, anyone, every heard of anything like this? I have never heard of anyone casting two votes in an election. I have never heard of an election where members were not allowed to cast a vote.
If this is the way that the Dallas Independent School District is run, the I see why it has been plagued with so many problems. When Dr. Hinojosa was called into question for members voting twice, he said Robert’s Rules of Order was followed. I have yet to see where Robert’s Rules (which are best used as a guide rather than absolute) allows for voting for more than one candidate.
If people in Dallas feel like this is O.K., then I guess I should either get with the program or rethink my decision to become a DISD parent. This board probably came in wanting to elect Mr. Medrano president. Fine. But to see a blatant disrespect for democracy in order to do so is sickening. They should have just nominated Medrano and Blackburn and been done with it.
Could someone please tell me that I’m wrong about this?
May 29th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
This is one of the reason I do not send my children to DISD. If the adults can not follow the rules, how can we expect the children we teach to follow the rules. It is really disheartning to have to send my children to private school because what is offered is inferior. I pray for them
May 30th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
The “FEDS” need to investigate the DISD from top to bottom.
It( the District )is the primary funding source of the business community.
J. Scovell and et al.
Persons of integrity such as Mrs. Ranger must be supported
and encouraged in their efforts. The business community
is helping to destroy the future of minority students/children
in Dallas.
“When good men are silent ,evil men wax(get)worse!
Continue to keep us informed Mr. Willliams.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:07 pm
It is imperative that the cover is pulled off of the trickery that DISD uses. Seems like Hinojosa’s Robert’s Rules of Order was somewhere collecting dust, and he hasn’t read it for understanding, etc. How can the same people vote twice?
I have heard of the meetings on the golf course, barbecue cookout, garage before meetings come in with the slate of officers or whatever needs to be pushed through - this reads like an “in your face” type of thing.
I haven’t figured out why the school was in red millions of dollars and the answer that was given was weak and then you get rid of a lots of teachers and some that are still there have personal ties to some of the “in people” and not worthy to fill the spot.
It is time for DISD parents to stop sitting on their hands letting things go on business as usual. Someone call for monitors from Austin to come immediately review from top to bottom and get things corrected. Why have officials in Austin been sitting in an office drawing big salaries when they can go out in the field and make differences.
Parents are the biggest advocate for their children let’s step up to the plate DISD parents!!!! If the school board members are so out of touch with their responsibilities, remove them by campaigning, elect people who will get the job done. It makes me sick to see members who sit in a meeting and not vote on a issue be it for personal reasons or that they don’t care to create problems in the long run. Can you imagine something “very important” and they take that attitude.
KEEP US POSTED ON THE BLATANT THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN DISD school board meetings.
I am the grandparent of a child in the school district.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:33 am
My first reaction to the board’s officer election mirrored yours. I have served on many boards of non-profit organizations, and I don’t think I have ever seen an officer “election” like this one. No nominating committee, no nominating committee report. None of the nominations even received a second. Okay, maybe. Maybe the board has an informal mutual respect, a good rapport, and they don’t need any formalities such as an agreed upon procedure for voting. That must be why voting was only allowed on two of the three nominees. A blogger at the Dallas Morning News sent me to the board’s policy on electing officers. Sure enough, like a good South African bureaucrat under apartheid, the board was following its procedures. (Here’s the link: http://www.tasb.org/policy/pol/private/057905/pol.cfm?DisplayPage=BDAA(LOCAL).pdf&QueryText=OFFICER%20ELECTIONS.)
The superintendent was conducting this mock election, and he has made it clear in many ways that he has no respect for the African-American trustees. If Ms. Ranger brings up a subtantive point, he will immediately call out his parliamentarian to rebut her on a procedural triviality. If she asks him a direct question, he stares at her and answers in contemptuous monosyllables. But he is running this election, and no one gets to cast a vote for Blackburn. Too bad for Dr. Blackburn, the champion of the magnet schools and of the poorest kids in Dallas who attend the Learning Centers. Hinojosa has his five votes. He is presiding over the new patronage system, or perhaps he is just its highly paid servant. If you don’t like it, says Edwin Flores, “Sue us. But you can’t.” Ha, Ha. They have dealt themselves in, and they don’t need to know a thing about fifty years of civil rights struggle in the courts and streets of America. As Larry Throm, the district’s own Thomas Gradgrind, says, “none of that applies anymore.”
In the long run, the people win — this is the activist’s faith — but in the short run, they suffer. We didn’t have enough power to stop last week’s disgrace. But I know the young people who turned out in protest these last few meetings learned who their friends are, and who their enemies. I’m betting on them. In the short run a particular configuration of power may prosper — but in the long run, it falls.
You are not wrong, Shawn, and this board is not right.