Darryl Baker
Todd Bensman
                             

12/16/06  - Much less a school district.

Only in the world of bureaucracy can you screw up at every level and get rewarded with a raise and a contract extension.

We have seen the headlines and follow up stories on the DISD employee credit card abuse that Allen Gwinn originally exposed on www.Dallas.org.  The only people who are in trouble or experiencing consequences are low level secretaries, et al.  The DISD big shot supervisors who should have been supervising just got reassigned, but few big shots lost their jobs.

We know about questionable personnel hirings at the DISD, but the people responsible for screening out the bad apples just got reassigned and Superintendent Hinojosa created a new bureaucratic position.

It is incredible that the DISD Trustees would give Dr. H a contract extension through 2011 when he has not accomplished anything remarkable since he got here.  Dr. H makes speeches and passes the buck, and we are not getting our money's worth.

DISD extends Hinojosa's contract; Trustees vote to keep superintendent until 2011 Friday, December 8, 2006 By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas school trustees approved a two-year contract extension Thursday night for Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, a move some said will give the district long-term stability and leadership.    The contract keeps Dr. Hinojosa through June 2011 and grants him an annual $15,000 retirement annuity. The new contract does not boost his base pay, $300,250 last year, but does grant him an annual percentage pay raise equal to what the average teacher receives. ... Dr. Hinojosa said that he was enthusiastic about the new contract and that he looked forward to a long career at the helm of the district.    "We've got some things that we're fine-tuning and changing, and we're going to continue to do that," he said. "I'm more excited than ever."    Board President Jack Lowe said the contract extension says to the community that DISD is moving forward with the reforms spearheaded by Dr. Hinojosa. ...The board approved the new contract 6-1, with trustee Lew Blackburn casting the lone dissenting vote. Trustees Ron Price and Carla Ranger abstained from voting on the contract. ... Mr. Price favored a one-year extension with automatic one-year renewals, and so he declined to vote on the new contract. Mrs. Ranger did not state publicly why she abstained from voting, ... Trustees hired Dr. Hinojosa in May 2005 with an initial four-year contract that expired in May 2009.

A 3% raise for a $37,000 teacher is $1,110, for a $40,000 teacher is $1,200.  Divide that by 24 (semi-monthly paychecks) and it equates to about $50 a paycheck.   A 3%raise for Dr. H will be $9,007.  Some teachers are no more successful at turning out educated students than Dr. H has been as the chief supervisor over the DISD.  It's a Catch-22 wheel that keeps rolling down the same rut, hits a bump and rolls back to the start -- getting nowhere. 

Our school taxes are not producing educated graduates, but no one loses their job and the boss gets a raise for being a likeable guy.

With all the DISD scandals of the past year, how can Dr. H say "We've got some things that we're fine-tuning and changing"?

The DISD doesn't don't need fine-tuning, it needs a new engine and a new conductor.  The DISD train is so far off track, no one even knows the direction it's heading, but a train wreck's a-coming for sure.

I would say Dr. H has been asleep at the wheel, except I don't think he's ever been at the wheel since he got to the DISD.  Would somebody tell me what reforms he has spearheaded?

For such a colossal failure as is the DISD, it is outrageous to pay the Superintendent $300 K a year.   He may be a charming guy, but he's not getting the job done, and now he's going to be on the job through 2011.  Why did the Trustees do this?  Dr. H had a contract through 2009 already, and this is just the end of 2006. 

We keep hearing that Dr. H's only had a year to get stuff done.  By the same token, he's done nothing to indicate we can expect great or even adequate results in the next 4 years.  The only thing the contract extension has definitely done is insure that DISD taxpayers will take a hosing when the Trustees eventually decide it's time for Dr. H to go before 2011.

As worrisome as it has been to know that some teachers, principals and secretaries were wasting DISD tax dollars (mere peanuts in the DISD bottomless pot of gold), it's been much worse learning that the folks responsible for keeping bad guys away from our school children were following the example of their Superintendent. 

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.  That's great for monkeys, but a superintendent over a school district with a billion dollar budget needs to keep his eyes and ears open and raise holy cain with those who are not doing their jobs and wasting taxpayers dollars.

The DISD Trustees may have tried to ignore the calamity, but the TEA is not.

TEA to review DISD; Agency to investigate why district failed to report criminal records Wednesday, December 13, 2006 by KATIE FAIRBANK and TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News

Texas Education Agency officials said Tuesday they will send investigators to the Dallas school district to find out why it failed to report educators with criminal records to the state.    Meanwhile, the district plans to investigate employees who lied about their criminal histories on employee applications.    The inquiries follow a Dallas Morning News report in November that uncovered flaws in the Dallas Independent School District's handling of employees with criminal histories.    It also showed that the district was not reporting all educators with criminal histories to the state certification office within seven days, as required by law.   The district did send the state agency a list of at least 23 teachers and five teaching assistants with criminal records that the newspaper had compiled during its investigation.    All had gone through a district review to determine whether they should be hired or keep their jobs. The crimes for which they were convicted or received deferred adjudication included prostitution, indecent exposure and cocaine possession. ... Sanctions can range from a letter of reprimand to the most severe ? certificate revocation for a superintendent or director who failed to send the reports. ... DISD spokesman Celso Martinez said the district was waiting to turn in educators in groups, instead of individually. He said officials would now report names as they learn about crimes. ... "We think that we put into place those safeguards that will give us the opportunity to be in full compliance, so we're obviously going to cooperate fully," he said. "I think they're going to find that the new processes ... will suffice for them." ... The school district's own review will check employment applications of people with known criminal histories to determine whether they were truthful about their record, said Mr. Martinez.    Employees found to have lied will be put through an administrative review. Repercussions could range from a letter of reprimand to termination.    "If it was a blatant lie, obviously that is going to be in a different category," Mr. Martinez said, adding that people with criminal histories should now report them as quickly as possible. ... In the future, applicants who fail to reveal crimes that turn up in the district's routine pre-employment background check will automatically be rejected, he said. ... Dr. Hinojosa said he plans to have more supervision over the district's review process in the future. He also said he will personally determine whether employees with crimes serious enough to require a district review can keep their jobs. Before, approval from a panel of district officials was enough. ... At least 141 employees and applicants with criminal histories have won appeals to be hired or keep their jobs since 2000, The News found in November. Eighty-five still worked for DISD.    Most had committed offenses like driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor theft, fraud and offenses related to drugs. But some also had aggravated assault, prostitution, public lewdness and burglary on their records. ...

Here's another Catch-22 situation.  Why would someone with a record of aggravated assault, prostitution, public lewdness, etc. be working for the DISD?  If they report their histories "as quickly as possible" does that change the fact that they have no business being anywhere near children, whether a cafeteria cook or a janitor, much less a teacher or teacher's aide?  Even if they report "them as quickly as possible", how would Dr. H possibly justify keeping a former hooker or pervert on the DISD payroll in any capacity?

Hinojosa hires exec for DISD; Head of Fort Worth firm to oversee payroll, HR, purchasing Friday, December 15, 2006 by KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas schools Superintendent Michael Hinojosa announced a central office shake-up Thursday night, saying he is hiring a corporate CEO to shore up the district's business divisions.    Eric Anderson, CEO of Crescent Machinery Co. in Fort Worth, will assume the new position of chief operating officer Jan. 2. He will oversee nonacademic departments, including payroll, human resources, purchasing and maintenance.    Mr. Anderson will take over many of the responsibilities held by Deputy Superintendent Ron Peace, who will get a new job title: chief of staff.    Several departments under Mr. Peace are under scrutiny from law enforcement and have been the subject of investigative reports by The Dallas Morning News. ...  Mr. Peace's new duties will be primarily to help Dr. Hinojosa reach out to the community. He was not available for comment Thursday night. ... A year ago, Dr. Hinojosa eliminated two deputy superintendent positions. He recently concluded that he needed to add one top-level administrator post back to his staff ...  The shuffle eliminates the job title of deputy superintendent, of which there are three: Mr. Peace, Denise Collier (instruction) and Steve Flores (support services). Dr. Collier becomes chief academic officer, and Dr. Flores becomes chief administrative officer.    The reorganization will not affect the salaries of those involved.

Why would Dr. H want an incompetent like Ron Peace as his Chief of Staff?  Does Dr. H want someone around that he can use as a ready scapegoat for the next and inevitable DISD scandal?

Everyone was excited that a "successful businessman" like Jack Lowe would serve on the school board.  He would demand that the DISD be run in a more businesslike fashion.  Right!  Like most rich people in this town, Jack Lowe doesn't seem to believe in public education or that DISD students can ever excel.  He doesn't demand the Superintendent or any of Dr. H's "yes men" to deliver a better engine than the current off-track model running mayhem at the DISD.   Mr. Lowe pretty much  doesn't see the need to shake things up, even if the district train is heading for a collision with total failure.

We need people on the School Board who truly believe in public education.  We need a  DISD Superintendent who has his hands on the train's wheel, rather than leaving things to some underling while he dines lavishly with "community leaders and movers and shakers" in the train's club car.

I'm not YET calling for Dr. H's resignation or firing, but he has shown me nothing to justify extending his contract for 4 years when he had 2 years before the end of his current contract. 

I want some bang for those $300,250+ bucks Dr. H hauls down as DISD Superintendent.  I want him to get the DISD back on track and accomplishing its mission of educating Dallas children.  I doubt it's going to happen, but I sincerely hope D. H proves me wrong.

sb