Carla Ranger

Despite Sharp Divisions, Dallas ISD Trustees Vote to Oppose Effort to Ease Testing Standards

Last night, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees approved a resolution "opposing legislative efforts to diminish graduation standards and academic rigor." Basically, they don't like HB 5, the Texas House of Representatives-approved bill that would reduce the number of tests students take to graduate, an ... More >>

Did Damarcus Offord, 20-Year-Old DISD Board Candidate, Threaten the Trustees?

A reader named Hometown Boy posted the link in the comment section of Bossman's story yesterday examining Tuesday's DISD board meeting, and the unwavering recalcitrance of DISD Trustee Carla Ranger. In it, board candidate Damarcus Offord appears to kind of perhaps threaten trustees. Hometown Boy cl ... More >>

Dallas ISD's Carla Ranger: The Superintendent Search Is "Being Dragged on Too Long"

​The Dallas Independent School District board has much on its plate at today's briefing, the first of the new year: that look-see at the coming year's budget, a report on efforts to close 11 schools to save $11 million, a peek at how that under-construction teacher evaluation system is coming alon ... More >>

Back to School ... Redistricting, That Is

Click to embiggen one of the DISD maps on the table, or just go here to see all of them.​And speaking of redistricting ...The Dallas Independent School District will begin holding hearings tonight during which the public will finally get a long, hard look at the draft maps on the table, courtesy S ... More >>

Decision to Pause '08 Bond-Funded Redos At Some DISD Schools Was Anything But Quiet

Billy Earl Dade Middle School is one of the schools where construction has been halted.​Front page of the morning's paper has a pay-walled story about the Dallas Independent School District's decision to "quietly" halt construction on a handful of schools due to receive '08-bond money redos -- qui ... More >>

"Foolishness in the Extreme": Watch the Dallas ISD School Board Debate the Budget

​If you care at all about the fate of the Dallas Independent School District, carve out an hour over the weekend. Then, jump to the other side of this item, where I've posted the entirety of the school board budget discussion to which I referred yesterday (down below too). Now, fair warning: It's ... More >>

As DISD Struggles to Make Budget Cuts This Year, Board Warned It's Only Gonna Get Worse

​The Dallas Independent School District board was just told it's "still in limbo" when it comes to the exact dollar figure it can expect in cuts from the state Legislature, though something could land on Gov. Rick Perry's desk as early as late next week. Right now, Senate Bill 1 would take $63 mil ... More >>

DISD Board Narrows Its List of Interim Superintendents, Say They'll Decide By Monday

Photos by Patrick MichelsMichael Hinojosa and Edwin Flores bite their lips as trustees Lew Blackburn and Carla Ranger get into it.Brand-new Dallas Independent School District board president Lew Blackburn emerged from executive session this afternoon to announce the trustees have narrowed their list ... More >>

Hinojosa Looks On As DISD Trustees Discuss What to Do About Interim Superintendent

Photos by Patrick MichelsOutgoing Superintendent Michael Hinojosa tries to pretend he doesn't know who Carla Ranger is talking about.Whoever set the table before last night's DISD board meeting had to be kicking themselves once the trustees got started, with dead-serious Carla Ranger yet again calli ... More >>

DISD Trustee Ranger Wants Hinojosa Out Now

Photo by Todd Overman/Courtesy Dallas Independent School DistrictDistrict 6 trustee Carla Ranger and the state-champion Kimball High School basketball team back in March​Left a few messages for Dallas Independent School District board trustee Carla Ranger yesterday, but never heard back. No matter ... More >>

DISD Projects $120 Mil Shortfall, Which Would Mean 1,091 Layoffs and No Full-Day Pre-K

​It's been a long, contentious meeting of the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees, and we just got to the latest budget update. First, Carla Ranger wanted to know why Bernadette Nutall, with Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's OK, halted construction at a handful of South Dallas sch ... More >>

In Wake of Townview Changes, Dallas ISD Super Hinojosa Insists He's "Not Anti-Magnet"

​The battle over Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center -- which Dallas Independent School District Michael Hinojosa is splitting up in order to excise five of its seven principals next school year, over parents and Carla Ranger's objections -- has reached The New York Times, via its relationship with th ... More >>

Ranger Disputes Dallas ISD's Contention That Board Doesn't Need to OK Townview Overhaul

​On Tuesday, the Dallas Independent School District announced it's splitting Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center into two schools, divvying up the six magnets housed within and reducing the number of principals from seven to two in an effort to save money -- and teachers. Shortly after the release wen ... More >>

Townview Parents Ask Dallas ISD Not to Overhaul School Without Board Approval

​Speaking of public eduction and whether or not the Dallas Independent School District can split Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center without the school board's OK ...A missive just arrived in the Unfair Park in-box that was sent today to the DISD board concerning plans to restructure Townview and cut ... More >>

New Site Lets You Look at Numbers Crunched by DISD's Citizen Budget Review Group

Courtesy Dallas Independent School DistrictAt left, Steven Korby, director of DISD's financial services, chats up Chief Financial Officer Alan King before the first commission meeting in late March.​Who knows how seriously the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees will take the su ... More >>

In DISD Trustee News: Ranger Unhappy With Citizens Budget Review Commission Line-Up, While Cowan Offers a "Budget Bracket"

DISD via FacebookThe first Citizen Budget Review Commission meeting, held on Monday​On Friday we were introduced to the Dallas Independent School District's Citizens Budget Review Commission, a 10-member group selected by the school board and Superintendent Michael Hinojosa that's been tasked with ... More >>

Why Bernadette Nutall Does Not Support Extending Dallas ISD Trustees' Terms

​We already know where Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger stands on extending DISD trustees'  terms from three years to four. (She's very against it.) But moments ago, as the board finally got 'round to discussing the subject, District 9 trustee Bernadette Nutall made her ... More >>

Carla Ranger: Power to the People, Not the Dallas Independent School District Trustees

DISD trustee Carla Ranger​Last week we noted: Tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Dallas Independent School District HQ, the school board's set to hear how the public feels about extending trustees' terms from three to four years. You got something to say on the subject, now's the time to sign up -- deadline ... More >>

News & Notes & A Day in the Park

Patrick Michels​Where to begin -- Vegas, maybe? Perhaps you've heard: Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's now just one of two finalists for the Clark County School District's top job, since the Floridian in the mix dropped out. Meanwhile, this Thursday, the DISD's ... More >>

Three Years Later, Dallas ISD Trustees Appear Ready to Ditch Minimum-Grade Policy

Dallas Independent School DistrictDISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa made the rounds at B.H. Macon Elementary School Monday morning.​About two months back, Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger blasted the district's no-grade-lower-than-a-50 policy (again), this time by insist ... More >>

News & Notes: Test Scores, Grocery Stores, Modano a Red Wing? and a Peek at the Plans for the Continental Building

Carla Ranger​A few items of interest with which to belatedly kick off your work week (lucky):On Thursday we noted that Dallas Independent School Board trustee Carla Ranger has found a new obsession: banishing the minimum-grade policy that disallows teachers from handing out grades lower than 50. T ... More >>

School Board Trustee Carla Ranger Says DISD's Minimum Grade Policy Violates State Law

DISD trustee Carla Ranger​Three years ago, or shortly before the Dallas Independent School District introduced its "effort-based" grading policy, the school board reminded teachers: They were not to give students a grade lower than a 50 for any one grading period. As the great Kent Fischer noted, ... More >>

Trustee Carla Ranger Is Very Unhappy With DISD Super's West Dallas Initiative

DISD trustee Carla Ranger​Yesterday Patrick Michels brought back this report from Dallas City Hall, where Mayor Tom Leppert and Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa introduced the so-called the West Dallas "School Zone," a public-private partnership involving charter ... More >>

DISD's Ranger on Graduation Rates and "The Disintegration of The Family Structure"

DISD trustee Carla Ranger​As we mentioned Monday, the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees will discuss at tomorrow's meeting its contingency plans for Kimball, Roosevelt, Pinkston and Seagoville high schools should the Texas Education Agency deem them academically unacceptable for ... More >>

DISD Off: Ranger Attacks Fellow Trustees' "Destructive and Self-Serving Agenda"

DISD trustee Carla Ranger​In case you missed it, on Tuesday Tawnell Hobbs published Dallas Independent School District trustee Jack Lowe's list of things he's looking for in an "ideal" trustee. Among his bullet points: "Supports our vision of being the best urban school district in the country." F ... More >>

Wherein Carla Ranger Refers to Her Fellow Dallas ISD Trustees as "Dastardly"

DiSD trustee Carla Ranger​Missed this one yesterday, mostly because Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger doesn't post to her blog as often as she used to. But one thing's got her attention: Fellow trustee Ron Price's proposal to rename schools for President Barack Obama and Supr ... More >>

Tomorrow, Carla Ranger's Supporters Will Make Their Case to DCCCD's Board of Trustees

DISD board trustee Carla RangerThe Dallas County Community College District board meets tomorrow at 4 p.m. at 1601 S. Lamar Street, and the confab should be livelier than most. In our in-box this morning, we were among those who received an invite to "Stand in Solidarity for Carla Ranger," the Dalla ... More >>

What the What? Carla Ranger's Firing Has Suddenly Turned into "Radical Demotion."

DISD board trustee Carla RangerI've given up trying to get answers from Dallas County Community College District officials concerning the firing of Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger last week; all we have to go on is this letter from DCCCD Associate Vice Chancellor of Student A ... More >>

In Firing Carla Ranger, DCCD Official Cites "Budget Constraints and Reorganization"

Still no word from Dallas County Community College District officials concerning their decision to terminate Carla Ranger's contract, thus ending her 20-year tenure with DCCCD. But late last night, the Dallas Independent School District board trustee did post to her blog her short-and-sweet terminat ... More >>

Ranger Says DISD Board Was (Is?) Trying "To Cancel the May 2009 Board Officer Elections"

DISD board trustee Carla RangerOn Monday, Tawnell Hobbs posted a poll in which she asked readers of The News's Dallas ISD Blog, "Who should be the next DISD board prez?" Perhaps not surprisingly, the outspoken Carla Ranger -- who led the charge to overturn the board's decision not to hold 2009 elect ... More >>

Carla Ranger Is Stunned and Saddened by Sudden "Removal" From Position at DCCCD

DISD board trustee Carla RangerI've left a message for Wright Lassiter, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District; he is at a meeting and not expected to return till later today. I've called the law offices of Jerry Prater, chair of DCCCD's board of trustees; he is out of the office ... More >>

Carla Ranger Wonders If the DISD Board of Trustees Is About to "Commit Fraud"

Late into last night, there erupted at the bottom of Schutze's Tuesday post -- concerning the Dallas Independent School District board's threat to needlessly gut the magnets and learning centers -- a discussion about "commitments and covenants." Those are what the district adopted in '03 to get out ... More >>

DISD Board Has Two Options: Special Election or Appointments. Not So Fast, Says Ranger.

DISD school trustee Carla RangerWhen last we left the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees yesterday, they had come back from their closed-door meeting and presented two options to deal with the Texas Attorney General's opinion concerning the extension of terms from three to four yea ... More >>

Courting Disapproval? DISD Board to Meet With Attorney to Discuss Texas AG's Opinion.

Woodrow Wilson High SchoolLast week, the Texas Attorney General's Office offered its opinion that the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees "was not authorized to change the length of its members' terms of office" from three to four years last November. Which has prompted a called b ... More >>

DISD Trustee Carla Ranger Writes of Texas AG's Opinion: "Voting Rights Have Been Sacrificed on the Alter of Political Power."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott"Bummer." That's how Dallas Independent School District board trustee Edwin Flores initially responded yesterday when Unfair Park asked for comment concerning the Texas Attorney General's opinion yesterday that the board "was not authorized to change the length of i ... More >>

Carla Ranger Believes Targeting of DISD Learning Centers is "Racial Politics"

DISD trustee Carla RangerYesterday, Tawnell Hobbs summarized the debate over the fate of the Dallas Independent School District's learning centers, created by court order in the 1980s to "return disadvantaged, inner-city, minority students to their neighborhood schools and provide quality ... More >>

Carla Ranger May Not Stand for the Trimming of DISD Teachers' Contracts to One Year

DISD school board trustee Carla RangerA Friend of Unfair Park who teaches in the Dallas Independent School District directs our attention to school board trustee Carla Ranger's blog, because we missed last night's post concerning a proposal to trim teachers' minimum contracts from two years to one. ... More >>

So, No One Else Is Worked Up About DISD Board's Vote to Extend Term Limits? OK, Then.

Yesterday was the deadline for "interested parties" to send to the Office of the Attorney General of Texas briefs concerning the Dallas Independent School District board of trustee's vote to extend their term limits from three to four years. Carla Ranger, of course, is the only trustee against the e ... More >>

Dallas ISD to Learn Some Interesting Legal Lessons Come January's End

DISD school board trustee Carla Ranger End of January's shaping up to be busy, busy, busy for the Dallas Independent School District. Says school board trustee Carla Ranger on her blog this a.m., Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has set a January 19 deadline for the DISD, the Texas Education Ag ... More >>

Carla Ranger Also Has No Confidence in Fellow DISD Trustee Ron Price

DISD school board trustee Carla Ranger The day before Halloween, three Dallas Independent School District board members -- Ron Price, Lew Blackburn and Carla Ranger -- told board president Jack Lowe, in writing, that they were calling for a "no-confidence vote" against superintendent Michael Hin ... More >>

Trustee Carla Ranger: "The Dallas ISD Culture is One of Arrogance, Deceit, Cover-up and Cronyism."

DISD school board trustee Carla Ranger Took her a few days for her to respond, but, at last, Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger has posted a lengthy essay concerning the school board's Thursday-night vote to extend the trustees' terms from three to four years. Ranger, who's ... More >>

Take it to the Limit: When Will the DISD Board Believe Carla Ranger?

DISD school board trustee Carla Ranger Jack Lowe and several of the Dallas Independent School District trustees keep insisting their push to extend term limits, from three to four years, is plenty legal. Which is why, at 5:30 p.m. today, the board will indeed vote on a resolution that does just t ... More >>

DISD's Lone Ranger

Poll Position

Carla Ranger on DISD Ethics Policy: How Lowe Can You Go?

School Board's Carla Ranger on DISD: "The Wrong People Are in Charge."

In the Wake of DISD Layoffs, a Pep Rally and Thank-You Note for Teachers

The Arts Magnet Name Game Headed to Extra Innings

Ranger Danger: DISD Trustee Suggests Altering Board Policies

Jerome Garza Has a Lot of Friends with Schools Named After Them, Apparently