02/14/06  How to beat Dr. Edwin Flores

Hello Ms. Boyd,

Things are going here for me in Japan.  I have been stationed here at Marine Corps Air Station-Iwakuni for about 8 months now.  I was given my certificate for being named Junior Sailor of the Quarter in the Marine command I am with, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron a couple of weeks ago. 

I REALLY WISH I could respond to your call right NOW to run for school board and I could turn the clock forward five years when both my parents are retired from DISD and my Navy enlistment is up.

You summed it up quite nicely, DISD School Board is probably our worst body of governance in all of Dallas County due to all the academics (Dr. Parrott, Dr. Flores, Dr. Blackburn and Mrs. Bingham) running around with little or no professional experience outside the academic world.  Even now, I could probably better relate to how the world really works than they ever could just being somewhere else on this planet working as a Navy hazardous material storekeeper.

Mr. Brashear, although very much flawed, is unfortunately the best board member of the lot right now because of his military and professional experience.  (Most people overlook the fact he is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Army.  He has had his moments, opposing the hiring of Dr. Gonzalez and the Edison project which Dr. Rojas promoted, both of which turned out to be horrifically BAD DEALS for the citizens of Dallas.  That Mr. Brashear could be replaced by yet another academic, Joe Tave, is simply a horrible prospect. 

Notice, Mr. Brashear was quoted in the DMN as recently saving something like, "...I don't think its possible for us to do this (hiring illegals as teachers)."

Let me just play make believe and pretend it's me 5 years from now  vs. Edwin Flores, since I live in his district.  This would be my platform and I encourage anybody who plans to run against this man to adopt some elements of this platform:

1)   I'm From Here --  I am a native Dallasite and DISD graduate from Townview Magnet Center-business magnet, with firsthand experience dealing with the consequences of DISD mismanagement and abuse as a student.   I took classes in the same classrooms and had the same principals and teachers that many current DISD students have.  I took pretty much the same curriculum current DISD high schools students have.  It's not just Hispanics; it's Blacks, Asians and some Anglos here and there. There are dozens of nationalities and languages spoken in DISD boundaries, which even the DISD web pages acknowledge.

2)  Stop the Boutique Programs! --  We need to stop the waste running these boutique magnet programs around this district that serve only a few hundred students for millions of dollars.  Examples- Irma Rangal all-girls school, the Middle College and TAG Magnet @ Townview which doesn't specialize in any specific professional study, but suck out badly-needed resources from regular high schools.

3)  High School Isn't and Shouldn't Be About Just About Getting Ready to Go to University -- In the past 10 years or so, many more high schools have a college-prep only oriented program.  Money and resources for giving kids exposure to vocational/life skills oriented programs (auto repair, plumbing, home economics) are sucked into exclusively Advanced Placement courses. 

For instance, not all students need to take Calculus.  I didn't need to learn much calculus when I got my finance degree.   We also must promote military service as an acceptable option, especially for middle and higher income families as a society.  The defense of this country and its worldwide interests - is the biggest undertaking anyone could undertake.

We aren't giving at-risk kids much motivation to stay in school when the focus in catering to children and parents of higher-and middle income families who have the option of going to at least community college full time upon high school graduation.  Even if your kid gets through University, they may have a hard time finding a job, especially in this post-9/11, post dot-com bust environment.  A Bachelor degree is no longer a sure ticket to establishing a professional career, let alone any decent job.

4)  We Need a CEO Type -- The world is not some big math equation or a controlled science experiment.  I've spent 2 years in Japan, sailed on a ship of war around the world (still playing myself 5 years from now), and I know quite a few things how this world is really like.  You need a trained executive with business or extensive government experience, say a CEO of a large corporation or top military official like a general to run a school district the size of DISD.   At the very least, we need a dual superintendence, one person (a seasoned professional executive) to run the business affairs, the other (an academic) to run the district's programs.

5) Negate the Importance of Hispanic Heritage -  It's not just about having to get along with Mexicans or Americans.  It's about getting along with Chinese, Japanese, Italians, English and many other unique cultures. 

The human race in its collective state is trying to adapt into a higher being.

As the late Dr. Carl Sagan said, "Who speaks for Earth? We speak for Earth."