Good Riddance to Naysayers — Dallas ISD Kids Finally Get the Trustees They Deserve

Dallas ISD students are closing in on a board of trustees they deserve — one in which a super-majority puts kids and their academic success first.Voters seemed to signal a big thumbs-up for what’s working in the district Saturday by electing Ben Mackey, former principal of DISD’s School for the Talented and Gifted, and Maxie Johnson, pastor of New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church.Dallas County Promise director Karla Garcia’s excellent chance to win her June 8 runoff could help further push the board in the right direction.Even Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, ever the nimble navigator of DISD politics, was unequivocal about the new board makeup when I spoke with him Tuesday. “I believe we’ll see more positive energy spent on the right stuff to build on what we’ve started,” he told me.Hinojosa said trustees and constituents increasingly see that the data is right — DISD’s strategic initiatives are overwhelmingly successful. “Now that we are headed in a more unified direction, we’ll not have to prove and prove ourselves all of the time,” he said.My translation: Good riddance to the naysaying skeptics.  Continue reading...