Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD
Dallas ISD Trustee Ben Mackey
District 7
Dallas ISD families and friends,
I hope all of you enjoyed some great food and fun with your friends and family. We have a lot to be thankful for in Dallas ISD, all of which you can find summarized below.
Dallas ISD District 7 Monthly Update:
Progress Report: Education advocacy group Children at Risk recently published its own independent annual A-F rankings. This recent Dallas Morning News editorial highlighted some of the policies that have led to academic achievement progress in our Dallas ISD schools.
Dallas ISD library checkouts are soaring as students reconnect with reading. With 2020 bond construction-refreshed libraries, librarians in every school, United to Learn Book Bashes, Dallas Education Foundation Book Vending Machines, and no smart phones during school hours, our students are enjoying a new chapter!
Old Adamson Update: Dallas ISD has withdrawn the request to demolish Old Adamson High School. While the renovation costs—over $100 million—are not feasible for Dallas ISD to turn it into a school, we will work to make sure we explore every other avenue first and only make a request to the Landmark Commission after all other options have been exhausted.
November Board Meeting Debrief: This month, Dallas ISD had its regular board briefing and meeting. I’ve chosen to highlight a few key items below:
Superintendent Evaluation and Contract Extension: One of the most important jobs we do as trustees is to hire and evaluate the superintendent, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the district.
Our evaluation process took place in November, and it is quantitatively tied to our board goals and constraints. As you can see in the link above, Dr. Elizalde exceeded goal expectations in academics and the financial areas, and increased scores in parent and taxpayer satisfaction surveys. Based on her exceptional performance, the Superintendent Evaluation committee recommended the board consider a contract extension, which I was proud to support, extending the contract through the 2029-2030 school year. It passed 8-0. The new five-year contract corresponds directly with our new set of goals, and her new salary now puts her in range of other Dallas County leaders.
Audit Results: Dallas ISD’s comprehensive financial report is final for the 2024-2025 school year, and we remain in a solid financial position. Our audit showed zero findings, and we have received a ‘Superior’ rating from TEA on the FIRST Financial Rating. We finished last year with a fund balance of approximately $651 million, meaning if we spend our full budget this year, including our one-year deficit budget of approximately $91 million, we will still be in strong financial standing with a fund balance at or above best practice.
Dallas ISD 2020 Bond Update: As a result of the 2020 Bond construction efforts, by the end of this school year, Dallas ISD will have opened 15 new schools in two years. More than 63,000 people have received badges to work on the $3.54 billion bond program, which has already sparked more than $5.7 billion in economic activity while modernizing learning environments for thousands of Dallas ISD students. Key highlights of the 2020 bond program include:
- 16 replacement campuses, 10 new facilities, 200+ campuses impacted
- Zero increase in property tax rate
- Career Institutes expanding to serve up to 12,000 high school students by 2030
- Resource Centers in traditionally underserved communities to assist families in need
- AAA bond rating, which helps district reduce interest expense
As much as the district has accomplished with this 2020 bond program, there is still work to be done at many campuses, which is why our Citizens Bond Steering Committee has been meeting since March to begin planning for the next bond program.
Ben Mackey
As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello. Just reach out to me at BenMackey@dallasisd.org
Best,
Ben Mackey
