On 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 elections, and who fought to keep the district from cutting funding from magnets and learning centers -- is leading by a mile with 78 percent of the 348 votes cast. But Ranger writes on her blog this morning that, well, she wouldn't be surprised if the board of trustees decides not to hold its regularly scheduled board officers vote one week from tomorrow.
Before the Attorney General's ruling of April 30, 2009 that declared "the DISD Board of Trustees was not authorized to change the length of its members' terms after December 31, 2007," it appeared there might have been a plan underway to cancel the May 2009 Board officer elections.Board president Jack Lowe was unavailable for comment this morning. Ah, and speaking of Ranger, no Dallas County Community College District has returned Unfair Park's calls to explain why Ranger's contract with DCCCD will not be renewed at the end of August, thus ending her 20-year relationship with the district.
The explanation would have been that the current officers should automatically remain in place until May 2010 -- since there would have been no May 2009 Trustee election.
Maybe no Board Officer should be allowed to serve beyond two consecutive years in the same position because it undermines the development of new Board leadership.
But politics and power often prevail over principle.
Because of the violation of voting rights in canceling the May 2009 election, the Board now has six elected Trustees and three 'holdover' Trustees.
We shall see if the regular Board officer elections are held at the May 28, 2009 Board meeting.
