6-24-21, Testimony for 5:30 pm Hearing on Federal Program Funding

This presentation can be found at www.Dallasisd.us.

The Covid-19 Pandemic we have suffered within DISD demands this Federal Funding. The slide presentation indicates that Dallas ISD is receiving a total of $846.6 million in additional federal funding over a four-year period.  That funding started with this past school year.

However, nowhere is there any indication as to how these millions of dollars have been annually allocated by school so that the public can be assured it is equitably distributed.  Such a listing should be made public for each of the four annual budgets affected.

The easiest way for this to be achieved would be to add six variables to the School Information File, under Resources in the Dallas ISD Data Portal, for the six functions funded with these federal funds in each school.  These 6 functions are described on page 4 of today’s slide presentation.  

Dallas ISD is improving.  But the documentation you make easily available to the public must be consistent with the equity and transparency values you each claim to be embracing.

Please use an expanded School Information File as the major tool in your transparency.  Update the data constantly with dates for the most recent update given.  Ultimately archive each school year so it is available to reflect DISD progress from year to year.  Such transparency will make DISD increasingly attractive to more and more families.  It will lead Dallas to firmly hold the position of being the nation’s leader in urban public education.

The DISD enrollment record of 173,799 students from 1969 has remained the all time DISD enrollment record for 52 years!  That fact reflects a collection of embarrassments for our city, mostly centered on our racism!  

Dallas is changing! With constantly improving transparency, and equity, DISD will ultimately break this 1969 enrollment record!