Jim Schutze Makes Me Want to Run For School Board

I’m a bit concerned an important Jim Schutze post over at Unfair Park won’t get the attention it deserves, because it was posted at near 6 p.m. on Friday. (Memo to Big Bob and gang: traffic goes way down after 5 on Friday. Please adjust accordingly.) It’s important because it discusses the ongoing threat to pare teachers from DISD learning centers and magnet schools. This is important to me because my daughter attends Booker T. Just so we’re clear.

Now, what Jim has found shows that the DISD board is either lying or misinformed (take your pick) about its need to, for example, get rid of 13 teachers at the arts magnet. Why? Because the argument has always been made that these schools don’t apply to the federal rules governing this money (the money the district says it will lose if it doesn’t bring the school’s budgets more in line with other schools’ numbers). And the district has always won that argument. Here is Jim’s point in a nutshell:

So there you have it — all the pieces right in a row. Federal law says you don’t have to cut special schools to a flat level with other schools if those special schools grew out of a deseg case and represent an ongoing effort to achieve diversity. That’s exactly the case of the Dallas magnet schools and learning centers.

Read the post for details. And know that if this is true — and Jim’s reporting seems pretty air-tight here — it is an inexcusable oversight by a man I respect, the DISD board president (and my representative) Jack Lowe. The board must do the right thing and protect its crown jewels if it wants to keep good students from fleeing for suburbs or private schools (and I’m talking of all races, not just we palefaces), and therefore maintaining excellence at schools like Townview, Booker T., and others is a priority.