Once upon a time not too long ago, extracting information from the Dallas Independent School District ranked up there with extracting an impacted tooth. It was a challenge, but it could be done.
The former district spokesman made you feel more than a little intrusive, if not downright stupid, for asking questions.
Some board members decided their terms should be extended without checking with voters or state law, and the Texas attorney general said, “Um, oh no you don’t,” so we had special election last fall in which most, if not all, of the incumbents up for re-election lost their seats, which could be a euphemism if read just so.
Lately, though, the district looks to have taken a "hey-be-our-friend" approach. It quietly launched a Facebook page -- and hey, welcome to 2005 -- where it has three friends at last check, and I’m guessing they all work for the district, probably in the Communications Services department.
Perhaps even more surprising, particularly because it had never been done before, district officials opted to conduct a series of town hall meetings during which representatives would explain the reasons and logic behind the proposed 2010-11 budget.
Not only will they explain how they derived at the final amount, they’ll listen to -- or at least they say they’ll listen to -- comments, suggestions, and questions from folks in the communities.
And the lion lay down with the lamb.
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Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. Whenever a governing, taxing body says it wants his input, he’s reaching for his wallet.
