Diana Flores

The DallasArena.com article (James Murphy: Sherri Brokaw vs DISD, Dr. Hinojosa, et al) by James Murphy, Sherri Brokaw's attorney, is amazing reading!

Sherri Brokaw, as you will remember, was the DISD administrator who oversaw the P-card program. She is the scapegoat who Dr. Michael Hinojosa used to lay principal blame for P-card use run amok at the DISD. One of the most stunning parts is that Brokaw let top administrators know about problems with Gloria Orapello, who is now in federal prison. What did Hinojosa do with this information from Brokaw -- he ignored it! He ignored it until the media brought it to light. Who did he blame? Brokaw, the very person that warned him there were problems with Orapello's purchasing habits on the taxpayer-funded P-card.

To date, very few have been held accountable for this misuse of taxpayer dollars even though Hinojosa committed to a thorough house-cleaning.

Sounds similar to the Preston Hollow situation -- Hinojosa was warned by an employee; he was directly sent a certified letter by the parents. What did he do? He ignored them! Who got fired? The whistleblower got fired, and the employee who warned him got demoted. It took, guess what, a lawsuit to do away with the illegal segregation of children that he allowed to occur in that school. He didn't act until his hand was forced by a court of law! Even then, it took protests by LULAC for Hinojosa to remove the principal after the court issued its ruling declaring that, indeed, illegal segregation had occurred.

Back to the P-card travesty: If Brokaw and her attorney are correct, that Hinojosa signed and submitted an affidavit stating that he knew zero, zip, nada regarding specifics about the P-card program because it was instituted before his tenure as superintendent. IF Brokaw had indeed informed the hierarchy that there were misdeeds occurring on the part of some employees before Hinojosa signed and submitted the affidavit, it looks like we possibly have a scandal of Washingtonian proportions -- possible perjury on the part of the General Superintendent of the DISD!

Also, please recall that DISD auditors had raised several red flags about the P-card program. So, how can the superintendent submit an affidavit in federal court stating he had no specific knowledge about the program? Either he is -- as some have characterized him -- inept at worst or inattentive at best regarding the management of taxpayer funds at his disposition.

Whatever the case, this superintendent's stewardship of our hard-earned tax dollars, entrusted to him for the education of our children and grandchildren, does not inspire confidence in this taxpayer, especially as regards his handling of the P-card scandal.

Travesty after travesty is ongoing at DISD and Hinojosa covers it all with the Dallas Achieves and Road to Broad smoke screens. Meanwhile, what have we gotten for these smoke screens? An increase in low-performing schools; a decrease in exemplary and recognized schools!

Dallas Achieves-not and Road to Nowhere is where Hinojosa has taken us thus far. Meanwhile, our children are still not receiving the top quality education they deserve.

I hope others will read Mr. Murphy's article. It is our responsibility to be informed, involved and proactive in advocating for a first-class school system and not one run by what some call the Wizard of Oz and his minions. Although, the label "Wizard of Oz" implies something comical is going on, but it's not comical. It's quite serious, because it involves the education of our children and grandchildren. It's possibly gone into the illegal realm.

Hopefully, each of us will become informed, involved and proactive in advocating for a first-class school system. Our children deserve nothing less. Gracias

Diana Flores
Taxpayer with grandchildren in DISD schools