Dallas schools leader touts wins, calls out Texas lawmakers for not boosting funding
Dallas schools are heading in the right direction despite inaction from Texas lawmakers, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said during her annual State of the... Dallas Schools Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde has praised her district's achievements, including outperforming several other North Texas districts in third grade reading and math, and criticized Texas lawmakers for not increasing funding for public schools during the last legislative session. She highlighted some campuses leading the state for academic performance and growth, including hundreds of students graduating with associate's degrees and Career Institutes. Despite these successes, she emphasized that there is still work to be done. She also accused the GOP-led Legislature of failing to adequately fund public schools and passed under-funded mandates such as the requirement that every school hire an armed guard and implement expensive security upgrades. Despite this, she said she will continue advocating for students at the state and federal level and will never use a lack of funding as a reason for their education.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Talia Richman in Politics
Dallas schools are heading in the right direction despite inaction from Texas lawmakers, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said during her annual State of the District address.
The superintendent touted DISD’s accomplishments, including outperforming several other North Texas districts in third grade reading and math. She also called out the GOP-led Legislature for failing to adequately fund public schools during the last legislative session — much of lawmakers’ debate was focused on the idea of sending state dollars to private schools.
“I will never stop advocating for you at the state and federal level,” Elizalde told a ballroom full of teachers and administrators Thursday night. “And I will never use a lack of funding as a reason why we won’t prepare every single student for the life they deserve.”
She highlighted a recent ranking that showed some DISD campuses leading the state for academic performance and growth.
She boasted that hundreds of DISD seniors graduate with associate’s degrees. And at the district’s Career Institutes, students experience hands-on training for high-wage, high-demand jobs.
“We are the economic engine of the Dallas-Fort Worth area because we are developing not just the workforce of tomorrow, but the leaders as well,” Elizalde said.
DISD Principal Alicia Iwasko, one of the administrators honored at Thursday’s event, said she’s excited about a new standardized curriculum, rolled out districtwide this year, with rigorous and engaging lessons. Her elementary students are learning about Greek mythology – something she didn’t tackle until she was much older.
“I’m very proud to see that,” Iwasko said.
Despite the progress, Elizalde emphasized in her speech that there’s still work to do.
The most recent STAAR test scores showed that across almost every elementary and middle school age-group, less than half of Dallas students met grade level in reading and math.
Elizalde said state lawmakers passed under-funded mandates during their recent session, including the requirement that every school hire an armed guard and implement other expensive security upgrades.
“Did the Texas Legislature fully fund all the new safety requirements that they so intelligently wrote into law? No,” Elizalde said. “Did we make our schools safer than ever anyway? Yes.”
She went on to ask: “Did the Texas legislature use a nearly $33 billion budget surplus to give teachers a pay raise after inflation effectively gave them a pay cut? No.”
Bills that would’ve done so were caught up in a political brawl over education savings accounts. Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders were set on passing the voucherlike program that would funnel state dollars to private school tuition. Education savings account proponents say they are necessary to give parents a way out of what they describe as failing public schools.
The fate of public school funding was tied to the ESA bill. Both died.
The Legislature hasn’t approved an increase in per-student funding since 2019, even as inflation and other factors stress districts’ finances.
Meanwhile, many Republican politicians and pundits have attacked public schools because they say they are promoting a “woke” agenda or teaching children to hate America.
Abbott has accused some public school officials of teaching a radical ideology. “Our schools are for education, not indoctrination,” he said during rallies promoting his school choice plan.
In response to this type of thinking, Elizalde said Dallas ISD teachers stand every day and lead children in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“We teach our children what Betsy Ross did, why we have Veterans Day, and the responsibilities of good citizenship,” she said. “If that’s ‘woke indoctrination,’ then I’m the starting center fielder for the Texas Rangers.”
The Dallas ISD budget outline, discussed at a school board meeting earlier this week, doesn’t shy away from funding racial equity initiatives.
It proposes small raises for staffers and would boost the minimum teacher salary to $62,000. At the same time, the district expects to cut dozens of central staff positions.
Dallas schools face declining enrollment, though they continue to welcome immigrants from across the globe.
“The truth is we are the Statue of Liberty,” Elizalde said near the end of her address. “We take everyone, we embrace everyone, from around the world and from the United States, and we turn them into young men and women who can not only thrive in the United States of America, but continue making it a better place for all of us.”
The district also honored several people as DISD teachers and principals of the year.
Townview teacher Amanda Ashemead, one of the winners, said she hoped more people will be pulled into the profession with the message: “Come – it’s fun.”
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