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Home Rule

Home Rule Commissioner Responds to Learning Curve Suggestions for Charter

One HRC commissioner says she favors student trustees, ballot petitions, and more.
By Eric Celeste |
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DISD 2013-14 Teen Board Officers
DISD 2013-14 Teen Board Officers

Danaë Gutiérrez is a home rule commissioner from District 8, selected by trustee Miguel Solis for the commission. She is the PTSA President of Cigarroa Elementary, and she helped the parents at Gooch Elementary start their vibrant PTSA. She is also a board member of the Northwest Council of PTAs. Gutiérrez responded over the weekend to my 10 suggestions for the HRC. She closed her email with this note:

Eric, I do not know if the commission will vote to write a charter or not. What I do know is that I am glad SOPS started this process. Because we are now talking and listening to what is going on in DISD. Perhaps not all agree on what needs to be done. But all can agree that something must be done. It would be a shame if the commission chooses to be lame ducks and do nothing with this opportunity we have been given. We owe it to the children of DISD to do something.

Well said. She granted me permission to share her responses to some of my suggestions. With minor editing, they are below:

1. Student Trustee
I could not agree more. Perhaps then the trustees would remember to act the part — as leaders of DISD. Plus it would teach our children that they too have a voice in their education.

2. Board Accountability
In my opinion we can’t blame the board for not performing. We need to blame the parents. If we as parent do not pay more attention to our children’s education, to what is going in DISD, to what the trustees are doing (or not doing), how can we expect things to be done correctly? I am realizing more and more that everyone gives their opinion about DISD and what needs to be done to improve it except for parents.

3. Impeachment
Our elected officials should set examples to follow. If you break the law, then they should pay the price.

4. School Calendar
I am okay with starting the school year earlier, but I would not want to make the days longer.

5. November Elections
The board had an opportunity to change the elections to November a fee years back. It would be interesting to know why they did not. Perhaps people just don’t care much about school board elections. So then the question would be, “What do we need to do to make them care?”

6. Ballot Petitions
I like it! If you want to run, then you should have at least 500 people to back you up. If nobody knows you then perhaps you have not been out in the community enough. How do you want to represent the people when you don’t even know them?

10. Mayoral Involvement
The first time I heard about HRC it was from a report by the Dallas Morning News. I heard our mayor say, “All the haves are leaving our city.” All I could say was, “OUCH and WTF?” After all, DISD is about 75 percent Hispanic. Was he saying that we Hispanics were a bunch of “have nots”?

There are a lot of great things going in DISD. Yes, I know it need improving in some areas, too. But I also know that for a mayor to help DISD he must have faith and love for it and for the people who are part of DISD. After all, DISD is educating the future of his city. If he can’t do that, then he should also not talk negatively about the people who choose to be part of it.

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