Live Blog - Board Meeting 10/30/08
Submitted by Allen Gwinn on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 16:09.
Board passes ethics policy with "Jack Lowe" clause! Crowd goes unruly! Board leaves!
It's almost 5:30 and time for another exciting edition of your DISD board in action!
It looks like the auditorium will be full tonight. Teachers are protesting outside.
The Ethics Policy (with the "Jack Lowe" clause) appears to have been pulled from the Consent Agenda so it will get due consideration from Trustees.
Prediction: it's going to be a long night.
It's 5:56 and the Board is just getting here (click "read more" to continue)...
6:03: The prayer, pledge, intros are done and we're off.
Carla Ranger noticed that "Trustee reports" had been removed from the agenda.
"Why was that removed from the agenda?"
Jack Lowe responded that he pulled it off. Lowe noted that this was done because he felt it was "safer" to leave it off while an Atty General's opinion was being requested.
Lowe just said he's not putting it back in.
Carla is pressing the issue. The audience applauds.
Carla moves to direct the president (that would be Jack) to put the Trustee reports back in. Ron Price seconds it.
Apparently Lowe pulled this from the agenda because he was concerned about trustees (Carla) talking about items not on the agenda.
We're listening to an explanation from the lawyers.
Technically board members must be careful when talking about items on the agenda. Some comments could violate the Texas Open Meeting Act.
The audience is NOT happy.
Price proposed that Carla amend an existing board item (public forum) to include Trustee reports.
The lawyer dissents. "It's not enough time to give notice that a discussion is going to take place."
Lowe rules that Carla is out of order. She doesn't get to give her report tonight. The audience doesn't like it.
6:17 and we're on to the Superintendent's report... then the committee briefings the awards.
6:37 and we're entering the "speakers to agenda items" phase.
The first speaker: Lew Blackburn!
Blackburn decided to add his name to the list of public speakers anticipating that Lowe would restrict trustee reports!
Next speaker's topic: the ethics policy.
"Board members what standards are you ascribing?" Then she proceeds to lambaste board members over the ethics policy.
"You saw what happened when you weren't supervising the superintendent."
She proposes a policy that excludes the District from contracting with an entity when a board member, or a family member, has an interest in the company (this is aimed squarely at Jack Lowe).
Next speaker's topic: the ethics policy.
Same message.
6:44: We're on to the consent agenda. Jack Lowe is getting winded listing the items pulled for separate vote.
Carlos Quintanilla and others are standing up shouting at the board: "when are you going to discuss the ethics policy?"
Jack responds: "in one minute!"
The police are moving in!
They approve the consent agenda, and move right in to discussing the Ethics policy.
Edwin Flores starts off with a couple of amendments. He wants to amend the policy to allow for longer suspensions for violation as well as lowering the allowable income from $10,000 to $2,500.
Price compared DISD's policy to Houston's and said that he isn't going to support the DISD policy because it isn't strong enough!
The audience applauds!
OMG OMG!! Adam Medrano can speak!
Adam isn't going to support the policy either!
The crowd goes wild!
Carla notes: "a trustee should not be allowed to benefit" from his or her position.
Carla is hammering the point at Lowe. She doesn't want Lowe to vote on the ethics policy.
Carla calls the new policy "confusing." "A ball of confusion."
She's making a substitute motion prohibiting the District from contracting with an entity in which a Trustee and/or his or her family has a substantial interest.
Adam Medrano seconds.
Voting against it: Flores, Lowe, Garza, Ellis, Blackburn and Bingham.
Back to the original motion and more discussion. Ron Price has an amendment.
He proposes that the District adopt Houston ISD's policy that has been "proven to work." He says he knows people who have resigned from the Houston Board because of it.
Lowe says he needs to see a copy of it.
Parliamentarian says "Ron Price's motion is out of order." She calls it a "delay motion" and a "motion to substitute." Technical issues.
Price's motion can't happen.
Carla Ranger: "Voting for this policy... can lead to corruption... a 'good ol boy' system... think about future boards... it is a sham."
Lew Blackburn is explaining why he won't be voting for this. "There are alot of good parts to this," Blackburn notes. "What I am asking [for] is alternate language" to clarify what constitutes a conflict.
"The question has been called."
Put more simply: how bad do board members want the District to be able to contract with TD Industries (to the tune of almost $10 million dollars) while Jack Lowe serves as TD's chairman?
Here's the problem: It started with a DMN article about conflicts of interest.
Carla followed up with a speech of her own on the subject.
So back to the discussion. The crowd is overwhelmingly opposed to an ethics policy that would allow this to continue.
Carlos Quintanilla is shouting at Edwin Flores telling him he is going against the will of the community by supporting the policy as written. The police are coming back into the room.
Carla, Ron, Lew are going back and forth with reasons why they oppose it.
The vote: Flores, Lowe, Garza, Ellis and Bingham voting for the policy and it passes!
Jack can continue to serve on the board while his company contracts with the District!
The crowd erupts shouting "Jack Lowe must go."
7:25: The Board leaves! We're recessed for a few moments while the cops attempt to restore order.
Everybody's tense. This is a complicated issue. Perhaps a simpler policy is, in fact, the best approach? I bet this comes back up in the future.
7:36: Back from recess and we're continuing with the not-as-interesting items on the agenda.
Steve Korby (one of the rent-a-CFO's [and a bright guy]) is defending an agenda item to hire additional IT people to support financial transformation. According to Korby, they will be contractors.
Blackburn is expressing concern that the department has too many people.
We're up to another item. This one is for an agreement to purchase "materials and supplies for core curriculum classes."
A couple more speakers and no Willie Hopkins tonight :(
It's 8:26 and we are adjourned.
What a night.
Leigh Ann Ellis asked who the vendors were. "Who is the funding source?"
Leigh Ann complained that she had been asking for this information and hadn't received it.
Carla Ranger says she has asked for this information as well.
Lew Blackburn noted that the staff frequently says "call me if you have questions" but trustees rarely get information they request.
More items in the same genre were pulled--a total of a little over $10 million dollars.
Ellis and Ranger voted against approval until the information is made available. Both want to know where the money comes from and who gets it.
Nobody else, unfortunately, wants to know so the price agreements pass.
8:09 - Speakers to non-agenda items.
Gene Turner, first up, was caught in the RIF. He has been in DISD for 38 years. He's complaining that he was RIF'd because of a conflict with a principal. "I recommend no principal should be able to evaluate their people."
The crowd agrees.
Another 30-year veteran is at the mic complaining about being a victim of the RIF.
But first, a person railing at Lew Blackburn for "disrespecting" him--then all over the place.
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Spend It ASAP
The update on the budget is that there is no way to realistically assess the budget or expenditures right now.
So WHY vote on items when it's not clear there are grant monies or any other funds to cover them. The items Ellis asked about appeared to be "nice to have" materials for various kingdoms--staff development, etc.
When you don't know how much money you have, you don't spend any more.
These items could have been delayed until a concise operating budget is in place.
The trustees voting "yes" on these items are the ones dooming this district to bankruptcy.
No wonder TEA and other politicians left last week shakiing their collective heads.
These guys still don't know how much money they have and where it is going.
Price Agreements
Where does the money come from? That's a reasonable question.
Reasonable question
Sounds like a reasonable question to me too! Kudos to Leigh Ann for bringing it up.
Something useful from the district
Just in case anyone wants to follow along live and dosen't know about it, these meetings are streamed live.
http://dallasisd.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2
Attendence
Thank you Glendon for posting that link. I watched and I really thought there would be more people at the meeting.
"Jack Lowe" clause
How difficult can this be?
Which is of greater value to DISD: the services provided by TD Industries or the service of Jack Lowe?
[Explanation: the "Jack Lowe" clause is what we jokingly call the clause in the new Ethics policy that forbids conflicts of interest while still allowing board members to have them!]
Hinojosa's Boy
Read an interesting comment on the DMN responses to the article that teachers are being hired back.
The statement that caught my attention was that Hinojosa has compromised the majority of the board so that they cannot effectively respond to his incompetence. The comment also stated that Hinojosa is extremely smart in terms of dividing and conquering the board.
Have to agree. Look at what he has done to Jack Lowe's reputation by buddying up to him. Everyone sees Hinojosa playing Lowe for a fool. Hinojosa will leave at some point, and Lowe will be stuck with a reputation as an idiot for eternity, as well as the board member with direct business ties into a district where he is supposed to serve as trustee.
Hinojosa's flirtations with board members, his ability to convince them that they work for him, his ability to turn them against Ranger when she was merely trying to discuss the public's business in front of the public! His behind the scenes manipulations OF WHO RUNS FOR THE BOARD!!!
He has been out in various communities telling them which board members should be re-elected. He is the freaking EMPLOYEE, and he is dabbling in the election of board members. When no one could figure out what he does all day, this is it. Truly remarkable in terms of manipulative, sociopathic behavior, with no brains in terms of actually knowing education or finance.
Anyone else notice there is NO paper trail when any decision of importance is made? NO trail regarding the finances or RIF or anything else. Just private conversations with his chief of nepotism, Viramontes or Olson or OPR or Collier.
Anyone notice his deafness to open nepotism? Where is the board policy on that?
It was apparent to many of us when Hinojosa hit town that he was a low-intellect kind of guy. But looking at his track record of causing discord, chaos, major financial mismanagement, use of OPR for his own private little issues, coverup by OPR of grade changing, it is apparent the lack of academic intellect distracts from the fact that we have a major sociopath as superintendent.
He has stayed long enough to take credit for the work of teachers at exemplary schools, work he and Lowe took full credit for after the previous year's scores sank to a new low. We are now seeing exactly what is behind the lack of ability to run the district: a remarkable ability to manage the board and Dallas Achieves and the Chamber of Commerce.
Board members, Dallas Achieves, and the Chamber: you have been had by one of the best of the conniving low lifes ever hired by the district, and that says quite a bit! Whatever is behind this current deficit, you haven't even asked for a fraud audit to cover your own a___.
TEA Commissioner Scott was apparently directed by Hinojosa to mind his own business. Scott needs to put a fraud audit in effect by the Texas Rangers, who were very willing to intercede with other districts with similar problems.
Hinojosa is dangerous, and he needs to be treated as such. Most of the board members are either aware he has damaged their reputations, know he has something on them, or are too stupid (Garza) to even realize their mistakes.
When are you "leaders" in this city going to get it?
Anderson didn't commit the same mistake twice. He didn't bake another error in overhiring into this budget. No one is that stupid.
Where did the money go?
More Enlightment on Hinojosa and his gang
I just posted this today at
http://www.dallas.org/node/564
Carla Ranger and others are right to be asking their questions but so long as Hinojosa and his gang of Associate Superintendents and DISD trustees can create chaos or continue the chaos within the DISD accounting system, then they can get away with anything.
That is why items are removed from the meeting agenda and information is never provided to trustees, who are wanting full disclosures.
We have severe conflicts of interest here and a criminal investigation needs to be initiated, if Hinojosa and Jack Lowe do not immediately implement a policy of full disclosure and transparency to the citizens of Dallas.
Look at the PCard discussion in my link above. DISD has always had a policy of no checks and balances, so that the people at the top can get away with whatever they want to.
Remember, the former DISD CFO and Yvonne Gonzalez and the CFO paid cash for a home valued at 750,000 dollars, if my memory serves me.
Just as we are on the verge of throwing the Republicans out of office on a national level, it is time to remove Jack Lowe, Hinojosa for their flagrant abuse of power, which is being exercise by Jack Lowe, Hinojosa, and others.
That's my question!
Where DID all that money go?
I know the taxes I pay to support the school are not being spent to benefit my kids... It is a long story, but Good question and post hopedog!
where did the money go
Someone needs to ask how much of OUR tax dollars are being spent to go to Spain and all other countries to get Spanish Speaking people that can not comprehend a word in English, let alone teach English. (calling themselves BILINGUAL) (and they are being paid 4,000 stipend a year and relocating fees, and housing fees for coming to this country. ) Ibet that's where the money went!
DISD is a JOKE!!!!
moving on for the better
Where did the money go
Why were all of the Spanish speaking teachers exempted from the layoff.
This just looks like Hinojosa and his cronies trying to change the demographics of who works for DISD. The only way this money could have been spent in hiring all of these spanish speaking teachers and paying their relocation fees and housing fees is for Hinojosa to have ordered and approved this.
Hinojosa did this without the School board's permission or anyone else. Why isn't this being treated like misappropriation of funds, where Hinojosa is financially liable.
What Hinojosa has done is called "featherbedding".
IMO, there needs to be a rule against nepotism at DISD, just as DISD and its board of trustees need to be held accountable for meeting their fiduciary responsibilities to DISD with severe consequences for conflicts of interest.
Hooray for Carla Ranger and others who are standing up to Jack Lowe and holding Hinojosa accountable.
Linda Moore
Dallas