Could Home Rule be a Boon For Homeowners? As Families Flee Dallas ISD For Suburban Districts, Better Schools May Bring Them Back
Share News:
It’s on the lips of just about every mom in my neighborhood: What will this home rule proposal mean for our failing neighborhood elementary? Will it mean we won’t have to spend an arm and a leg for private school, or uproot our family for the suburbs?
That’s exactly what’s happening right now, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings wants to stanch the flow of Dallas’ middle class hemorrhage before the city bleeds out. His impassioned plea is one worth listening to.
“You’ve got to just speak the truth. The problem is that everybody is moving out of town. … This is the big elephant in the room,” Rawlings said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News editorial board this week.
We see it all the time when checking out listings in sought-after suburbs or in Dallas neighborhoods where parent groups have worked their tails off to reinvest in ailing campuses in areas where the housing stock is perfect for families but the schools … not so much. Good schools are a selling point. Underperforming schools act as a repellant. Add to the equation that homeowners are already funding these failing schools through property taxes, and the problem is even more galling. This is the major takeaway from Tod Robberson’s blog post:
[Rawlings] suggested that the dysfunctional school system was a major — if not the major — impediment to our city’s growth and development. It is a deterrent to middle class families considering a move here. Bad schools and school management drive down property values. It’s a civil rights issue.
“Economically, it’s a train wreck…,” he said. “It is broken, and we have got to admit that.”
The key point in his remarks was the breakdown over the past decade in taxpayer funding for DISD. We’ve spent $13.9 billion on public education in DISD. That breaks down to $3.5 million per college-ready student during that time period.
If this were a business, and those were the results based on that expenditure, Rawlings said, “Everybody should be fired who had anything to do with this.”
Now, if home rule does turn the district around, it won’t be an overnight fix. It will take years for Dallas ISD to become the kind of district that attracts middle-class families rather than sends them fleeing once their children reach school age, considering that these are the households who really can’t afford to pay for their child’s education through taxes and then again through private school tuition. It seems like a more logical solution than splitting the district up, which was proposed by East Dallas families through the White Rock ISD facebook page. The two strategies, based on what the commission comes up with, may not be mutually exclusive, though.
While home rule may not be a magic bullet, it has at least started a citywide conversation about the dire consequences of doing nothing.
What do you think? If Dallas ISD makes progress with changes on the district level, can the city turn it around, or is the damage already done?
14 Comments
Leave a Comment
Dallas ISD cannot make progress until parents put fire to the feet of legislators and change the chains of state testing so teachers can actually teach.
Dallas ISD cannot make progress until parents put fire to the feet of legislators and change the chains of state testing so teachers can actually teach.
The majority of McKinney schools — about 94% — are not participating in the National School Lunch Program, which reimburses schools for the meals they serve and provides food at lower cost to feed lower-income students. However there is one elementary school in East Plano and East McKinney that have a rate of 30 percent or more participation in the free lunch program. Yet some great schools in Dallas that are not recognized due to an 90% pass rate on the TABS or less . For example there is a great Dallas school that is not in the Richardson school district yet the free lunch rating is only 2 percent and the pass rate is 88 percent. To me this means this is an awesome school based on socio economics! The elementary school I am talking about is actually in a very charming neighborhood.
However the TABS tests rating results in parents looking at private schools or going to the burbs!
I think the parental involvement may be at a higher rate in the burbs. However, there are over 567 elementary schools in Dallas that is a lot of schools and lots of parents! So if you have a PHD in common sense you will look at the school lunches and not the test scores! Also there are some cultures that focus on discipline and memorization to past tests only.
Also remember you can have a Dallas address and be in Richardson schools.
So before you considering abandoning Dallas schools look at the free lunches first.
Thanks so much for this, Keith.
The majority of McKinney schools — about 94% — are not participating in the National School Lunch Program, which reimburses schools for the meals they serve and provides food at lower cost to feed lower-income students. However there is one elementary school in East Plano and East McKinney that have a rate of 30 percent or more participation in the free lunch program. Yet some great schools in Dallas that are not recognized due to an 90% pass rate on the TABS or less . For example there is a great Dallas school that is not in the Richardson school district yet the free lunch rating is only 2 percent and the pass rate is 88 percent. To me this means this is an awesome school based on socio economics! The elementary school I am talking about is actually in a very charming neighborhood.
However the TABS tests rating results in parents looking at private schools or going to the burbs!
I think the parental involvement may be at a higher rate in the burbs. However, there are over 567 elementary schools in Dallas that is a lot of schools and lots of parents! So if you have a PHD in common sense you will look at the school lunches and not the test scores! Also there are some cultures that focus on discipline and memorization to past tests only.
Also remember you can have a Dallas address and be in Richardson schools.
So before you considering abandoning Dallas schools look at the free lunches first.
Thanks so much for this, Keith.
I agree with Mr Rawlins on one thing for sure – that based on performance, and vaule of cost spent, the whole of DISD BoE should be FIRED!
The Board of DISD seems to have too big an ego and it's all about their one little fifedoms instead of making Dallas ISD a world class Publc School system.
DISD has some excellent schools, mostly in the magnent system, so why cant we carry that on to the whole district?
Why can we not get this right? Why cant we stop the bleeding to the 'burbs?
I agree with Mr Rawlins on one thing for sure – that based on performance, and vaule of cost spent, the whole of DISD BoE should be FIRED!
The Board of DISD seems to have too big an ego and it's all about their one little fifedoms instead of making Dallas ISD a world class Publc School system.
DISD has some excellent schools, mostly in the magnent system, so why cant we carry that on to the whole district?
Why can we not get this right? Why cant we stop the bleeding to the 'burbs?
I do believe that the problem is not with the schools or the teachers, these are the problems associated with demographics and poverty.
The issues run much deeper than quick fixes will provide.
I do agree with you that the value of real estate would skyrocket if the schools could get fixed.
Absolutely. If only you had to have a license to be a parent…
I do believe that the problem is not with the schools or the teachers, these are the problems associated with demographics and poverty.
The issues run much deeper than quick fixes will provide.
I do agree with you that the value of real estate would skyrocket if the schools could get fixed.
Absolutely. If only you had to have a license to be a parent…
The state required STAR test is a disaster. Average students cannot pass these tests – only the few advanced students. The teachers, principles & schools are consider inadequate because of the low grades. Across the board, teachers say they cannot "teach" – they only try to get students to pass "the test". Not a good plan for educating our students.
The state required STAR test is a disaster. Average students cannot pass these tests – only the few advanced students. The teachers, principles & schools are consider inadequate because of the low grades. Across the board, teachers say they cannot "teach" – they only try to get students to pass "the test". Not a good plan for educating our students.