Breaking the Cycle: Confronting the Crisis in Dallas Public Schools
Most Black students in Dallas are stuck in failing Dallas ISD schools. Racist Teachers Unions and greedy administrators see Black students as pawns to be exploited.
Dallas ISD President Justin Henry says Black students don’t deserve school choice and blames problematic Black parents for not voting.
The Democrat-run City Council and DISD Board of Trustees work hard to perpetuate the racist system. Republican leaders, including Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, refuse to make educational freedom a priority. They failed to pass legislation when they had the chance.
Black voters deserve better from both parties.
The Dallas public education system is in a state of crisis. The schools, particularly those in impoverished zip codes, are battlegrounds where students and teachers face more than academic challenges. Drug abuse, gang violence, and underage pregnancy are rampant, creating an environment where learning is not just difficult—it’s dangerous. These institutions meant to be safe havens of knowledge, have become perilous, where the threat of survival overshadows the promise of education.
The Echoes of Segregationist Sentiments
The echoes of segregationist sentiments reverberate through the halls of power as the wealthy erect barriers to maintain educational apartheid. School choice, a beacon of hope for many, is snuffed out by those who fear the mingling of classes, who cannot fathom their progeny sharing desks with those from the ‘other side’ of the tracks. Understand that denying low-income families the benefit of School choice equates to educational apartheid.
The Monolithic ISDs and the Illusion of Funding
The Texas Independent School Districts (ISDs) have become monolithic entities, entrenched in a framework that commodifies students. Each child is tagged with a dollar value, a budgetary figure that, in a cruel twist of irony, seldom reaches the classrooms it is meant to enrich. Teachers and students, the heart and soul of education, are left grappling with the scraps of an abundant feast they were never invited to.
The Betrayal by Those in Power
The betrayal runs deep, with Republican stalwarts like Hugh Shine, Drew Darby, Ernest Bailes, Charlie Geren, and Glenn Rogers aligning with the AFT, a teachers’ union that has strayed from its noble path. These politicians, swayed by the siren calls of wealthy donors and coalition favors, have turned their backs on the communities they vowed to serve. Their resistance to school choice is not just a political stance; it is a barricade against the advancement of those they deem unworthy.
The Democrats, Dixiecrats and Socialists have long professed to stand as the guardians of the Black community, pledging to fight for equality and justice. Yet, their actions tell a starkly different story—one of betrayal and political maneuvering. At every turn where they could have championed the cause of education and boosted teacher pay to attract the brightest minds into our classrooms, they chose a different path. They opted to funnel the funds that could have enriched our students’ learning experiences into a relentless campaign against school choice, effectively slamming the door on the future of countless children.
This is not mere negligence; it is a deliberate act of suppression. By blocking the avenues that lead to educational and economic upliftment, these political groups ensure that the Black community remains tethered to the margins, dependent on the very systems that fail them. The money that should have been invested in our youth, in our educators, has been squandered on maintaining a broken status quo. It’s a clear message: they prefer us shackled to underperforming schools, where potential is stifled, and hope is a scarce commodity. We must rise, with clarity and conviction, to challenge this oppressive status quo, and fight for the educational freedom that is rightfully ours
The Illusion of Insufficient Funds
The narrative that has long been peddled is one of insufficient funding. Yet, when we peel back the layers, when we adjust for inflation and scrutinize the numbers, a starkly different story emerges. It is not a lack of funds that plagues our schools; it is the mismanagement of these funds by an administrative class more concerned with their own fiscal comfort than with the educational welfare of our children.
The Misallocation of Resources
The administrative bloat within the Dallas Independent School District is symptomatic of a wider malaise. Funds that should be channeled into classrooms, into resources for students, into fair salaries for our hardworking teachers, are instead diverted. They feed into an ever-growing administrative apparatus, one that seems more invested in its own perpetuation than in solving the genuine issues that face our educators and students daily.
The True Cost of Administrative Excess
The true cost of this administrative excess is measured not in dollars but in human potential. Every cent that is funneled away from the classroom is a theft from the future of our students. It is a denial of opportunity, a reinforcement of the school-to-prison pipeline, and a perpetuation of the cycle of poverty that entraps too many of our youth.
The Demand for Equity and Accountability
We demand equity. We demand accountability. We urge that the funds allocated for education are used for their intended purpose—to educate. We call for a radical restructuring of priorities within the DISD, one that places the needs of students and teachers above the desires of an administrative elite.
The Vision for True Educational Reform
Our vision for educational reform is clear. We envision schools as centers of excellence, regardless of zip code. We see a future where teachers are valued and compensated as the professionals they are, where students are provided with the resources they need to thrive, where the school environment is safe, nurturing, and conducive to learning.
The time for half-measures and excuses is over. The evidence is clear, the verdict is in, and the sentence is just: reform or be reformed. For the sake of our children, for the future of Dallas-Fort Worth, and the integrity of public education, we must act now. Let us rally together to dismantle the barriers to success and build, in their place, a foundation of opportunity for every student in our community.
