Back Talk Preston Hollow

DISD news roundup: No election, new CFO and another investigation

Lots of DISD action this week ... here's a brief summary of some of what went down, along with (of course) a little commentary:

• After its embarrassing financial crisis, DISD is spending $258,000 annually to hire a new chief financial officer. Larry Throm comes via Austin and Lubbock, where he is credited with being a tough watchdog on district finances there. "Dallas is absolutely fixable," Throm told the DMN. "I would not have taken the job if I didn't think I could be successful. They need to install some internal controls, generally accepted accounting principals and some safeguards."

DISD board vote may extend trustee terms and delay May election

When Carla Ranger starts looking like the reasonable one on the DISD board, we might have a big problem. But that seems to be the case on the board's possible vote today to delay the currently scheduled spring elections for trustee seats currently held by Edwin Flores, Leigh Ann Ellis and Ron Price.

In a nod to stability, the board is considering extending board terms, which would mean the three trustees wouldn't face re-election until 2010 as opposed to May 2009. The board is relying on a state law that allows school boards to extend trustee terms; DISD's lawyers apparently are giving the board the go-ahead even as Ranger cites other legal opinions saying such a move would be illegal.

Jim Schutze weighs in on the idea in this week's Dallas Observer, and most of his points are dead-on.

Extending trustee terms is a good idea, giving the volunteers we elect a longer period of time to learn the ropes and at least try to keep everything honest on Ross Avenue.

But voting to extend the terms to get around having an election, as opposed to making the term extension effective after the next election cycle, essentially trumps our right as voters to have a say on DISD's ongoing issues. It could very well be in DISD's best interests — and it certainly is in Supt. Michael Hinojosa's best interest — to keep these three supportive board members on the job. But that's just not the way things should be done in a democracy. An election to vote in new board members, if that occurred, might make things even more messy at DISD, while re-electing these three board members would send a message that stability is what voters want.

But that's a decision for voters to make, and it shouldn't be taken away from us by the very people whose actions many are questioning.

Council subcommittee considers a smoking ban in bars, billiard halls

A city council subcommittee is considering expanding the city's current smoking ban from restaurants and workplaces to bars, billiard halls and within 15 feet of entrances to publicly accessible villages, according to the DMN. A majority of the six councilmen on the subcommittee seem to be leaning in favor of the proposal, according to the News story and more comments on its blog.

I have to admit that when the city council first decided to restrict smoking in restaurants and other public places a few years ago, I had my doubts: It seemed like a draconian measure, and it seemed likely to drive business out of Dallas. Today, though, I haven't seen a single study indicating that significant business was lost to the more smoking-friendly suburbs, and the air in most places I go these days is cleaner and clearer.

Easing credit crunch puts the convention center hotel back on track

Good news for fans of the taxpayer-owned downtown convention center hotel, as well as for the pending DISD bond issue: The credit market, at least for public works projects, appears to be easing enough to allow AA-rated and above public entities to obtain financing. A DMN story indicates the city of Dallas intends to close on $253.3 million in water improvement project bonds this week; a few weeks ago, this and just about every other bond project in the country were frozen due to lack of capital or political will or lenders — take your pick. The $550 million convention center hotel, which Mayor Tom Leppert and many city councilmen have vowed to fund in January, requires issuance of municipal revenue bonds to generate the cash, so now that the market is coming back, lack of available funding shouldn't hold back Leppert or the council. I guess we'll see if the May referendum on the project causes the council members any heartburn when it comes time to approve the bonds in January.

Election results, part II

• Yes, that was an impressive performance by Lupe Valdez in winning the sheriff’s race. She only ran about 35,000 votes behind Barack Obama in Dallas County, and she apparently got a lot of Republican and independent votes in the process. There were 289,000 straight party Democratic ballots, and Valdez got 388,000 votes. What does this mean? A lot of people think she has the jail problems under control.

• I noted last week how much fun the Democratic primary for county judge will be in two years given the results on Nov. 4. I’m not sure the Republicans will have quite so much fun. If Valdez can get one-quarter of her votes from non-Democratic voters, imagine how many votes a more respected Democratic candidate can get. By the way, one of the names being floated around as a possible GOP judge candidate is former Lakewood city councilman and erstwhile mayoral candidate Gary Griffith.

• My favorite number from the election, from precinct 1207 in University Park (voting was at Robert Hyer elementary on Caruth). George Bush got 82 percent of the vote there in 2004, with 952 votes cast. In this election, John McCain ran behind Bush by .7 of a point, with 2,604 votes cast. I don’t know that the .7 of a point is significant, but that 530 people voted for Obama in one of the most GOP precincts in the country is.

Technorati Tags: Dallas County elections,sheriff's race,Dallas County judge

DISD whittles budget deficit to $28 million

Lots of DISD news Thursday, most of it positive, as the board met to discuss budget deficit progress, extending trustee terms, reviewing academic progress and evaluating how improvements to the accounting program are going. Here's a brief summary:

• The biggest news: Last year's DISD budget deficit, originally estimated at $64 million for this year, has been lowered to about $52 million as a result of additional state and local revenues. And this year's deficit, originally estimated at $84 million, has been reduced to about $75 million, prior to the recent teacher layoffs (which are projected to reduce the deficit by about $26 million) and program cuts (which reduce the projected deficit by about $28.2 million, leaving the district still about $28 million over budget for this year.

DISD 'ghosts' on the comeback trail?

Jim Schutze has a thoughtful column in this week's Dallas Observer about the state of DISD and what needs to be done. Rather than try to paraphrase what he's saying, since he covers a couple of topics, I'll let you read it. There is an interesting trip down memory lane for those of us who have been in Dallas for awhile, though, as Jim discusses past superintendents Yvonne Gonazalez and Waldemar Rojas, neither of whom lasted 12 months in the top job. The good times just keep rolling ...

How about an extra year for DISD trustees?

With many parents and teachers eager to blow up the entire DISD school board, word comes today in a DMN article that some board members not only aren't eager to leave — they're considering plans to extend their terms.

The board will consider a proposal Thursday to extend individual trustees' terms from three years to four, giving Leigh Ann Ellis, Edwin Flores and Ron Price an extra year before facing election (currently, their terms end May 2009). The rationale is that a trustee new to the board could use an additional year to do the job more effectively. Ellis told the DMN it takes a couple of years to understand the district well enough to have an impact.

Predictably, the same people who are calling for board members to resign as a result of the budget problems aren't in favor of the board extending members' terms. From a practical standpoint, the proposal makes sense — a four-year term (already implemented in Austin and Houston) would provide more time to do the job right and, theoretically, more board continuity since terms would be staggered with four members up for election at one time and the remaining five up for election two years later — as opposed to electing three board members every year.

Unfortunately, from a PR standpoint, this proposal might be a little harder to defend, since it does give the appearance of board members extending their own terms, much like Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently lobbied for in New York (he said given the troubling economic times, it would be too risky for New Yorkers to have an untested mayor on the job; Bloomberg wanted to run again, but couldn't because of term limits unless the city's charter was changed, so it was). Personally, I don't have a problem with the DISD proposal, but it probably would be better to carry out the May 2009 elections, as planned, and extend the terms of those elected then for four years, similarly adjusting the terms of the other trustees as they come up for election until the rotation is correct.

Also Thursday, the board will be hearing from Supt. Michael Hnojosa, who is scheduled to lay out a plan to make sure DISD doesn't face another budget crisis anytime soon. Who knows? Maybe public interest in what's going on in Washington will allow Hinojosa and DISD to get back on top of education here out of the limelight. Relatively.

Election results, part I

A few quick thoughts until I get chance to examine the numbers:

• U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, who ran 30 points ahead of John McCain in Dallas County, becomes a leading contender for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate when incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns next year to run for governor.

• Will the Democratic landslide in Dallas County give Mayor Park Cities and his allies on the city council second thoughts about rushing the convention center hotel package through before next spring’s referendum? And don’t you think the anti-hotel people wish they had put the issue on the ballot yesterday?

• Turnout was almost 62 percent –- good, but not staggering. Statewide, it was about 59 percent. This means that early voting doesn’t necessarily translate into more voters, but the same number of voters voting early. This should change the way candidates campaign, putting more of a focus on early voters.

• The race for Dallas County judge in 2010 gets much, much more interesting, since the Democratic nominee would seem to have a leg up on winning. The Democratic incumbent, Jim Foster, may have as many as four opponents in the primary, all well known and respected -– former city councilmen Larry Duncan, John Loza and Chris Luna and ex-mayoral candidate Sam Coats.

• Democratic incumbent Allen Vaught beat Republican Bill Keffer by 1,800 votes for the state District 107 House seat. That’s 700 votes more than he beat Keffer by two years ago, and probably means the end of Keffer’s political career.

• The same is probably true for Republican incumbent Tony Goolsby in the District 102 House race. He lost by 2,500 votes to Democrat Carol Kent after holding the seat in 2006 by 1,500 votes.

Technorati Tags: Dallas County elections,Pete Sessions,Allen Vaught,Bill Keffer,Tony Goolsby,turnout

Barack Obama says "no" to a saggy pants ordinance

President-elect Barack Obama may well have an impact on one of the least-pressing but most-discussed issues facing the Dallas city council: whether to pass an ordinance outlawing "saggy pants". The DMN city hall blog reports that during an interview with MTV News, Obama dissed the very idea of outlawing saggy pants, saying: "I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time," among other comments you can read by clicking here. Anyway, deputy mayor pro tem Dwaine Caraway, an Obama supporter, has been the city's leading proponent of the saggy pants ordinance.