The CEO of The Texas Tribune, Evan Smith, and three North Texas Superintendents met on March 24 to discuss the pandemic’s impact on school funding, learning loss, and school board pressure. The panel also discussed their reactions to legislative interference with curriculum such as the ban on critical race theory, book restrictions, and the overall increase of political polarization that has entered K-12 public education. A link to the panel can be found here.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Evan Smith, CEO of The Texas Tribune

  • Smith – Time of high polarization and political strife among school boards; worst I have seen during my career
  • Texas is better when we talk openly about things, so we are rebooting live journalism

 

Panelist Introductions

  • Smith – 3 superintendents from the North Texas area to discuss current state of Texas public schools
  • Michael Hinojosa – Dallas ISD Superintendent; stepping down at the end of year
  • Kent Scribner – Fort Worth ISD Superintendent; retires at the end of contract in August 2024
  • Jeannie Stone – Former Richardson ISD Superintendent; resigned last December

Questions for Panelists

  • Smith – What are schools like now after the pandemic?
    • Hinojosa – October 20119 we had a tornado that wiped out 4 of our schools to add to the equation; we were lucky we had devices, but 3,600 houses did not have access to broadband
    • Hinojosa – 3-5% of students did well with online learning but 95% of them did not
    • Biggest mistake I made was letting the students have a hybrid schedule; the best thing the governor did was force us to come back even when we had different ideas of how to do it
    • Stone – If you’re in school you cannot explain what is going on and if you are not in school you cannot understand; teachers never stopped working and are true front-line workers
    • Stone – Learning loss is a thing in every district, in every state right now
    • Scribner – 85% of our students live below or at the poverty lines; Katrina kids did not catch up for 3-4 years and we are trying to catch our students up by extending school hours and offering Saturday classes
  • Smith – Are students back and what was the enrollment decline?
    • Hinojosa – Had 150,000 students 2 years ago and today we are at 144,000 students; first drop was in pre-K enrollment
    • Hinojosa – Despite pandemic, we graduated 9% of students graduated high school with an associate degree
    • Scribner – It is a positive thing to bring kids back to the classroom; our students have essential workers as parents which comes with more complications for students
  • Smith – What is the highest financial hit your district took in the past 2 years?
    • Scribner – PPE, cleaning care, and extending the school year; $260 million in ESSER funds for recovery
    • Hinojosa – 44 states fund by membership, but we do ADA; so, we still must pay teachers the same even when attendance rates are lower
    • Stone – We are still down 1,000 students
  • Smith – Legislature decided last session to tell superintendents what to teach and read; Was critical race theory being taught in any of your schools?
    • All panelists say no
  • Smith – Legislature is highly concerned with critical race theory; is this a real debate?
    • Stone – Legitimate debate; work that was being done for children was criticized and taken away
    • Hinojosa – We believe in racial equity with recourses, and dual language; legislature is stirring havoc
    • Scribner – This is a manufactured crisis; an effected political strategy where the school board quorum has become a public square
  • Smith – Fort Worth has supported equity; has anything changed with the backlash?
    • Scribner – absolutely not; nothing changes with new legislation we continue with equity
    • Stone – Moral of teachers has taken a hit; everyone belongs in the conversation but at the end of the day superintendents and school board make decisions for all the students
  • Smith – Granbury ISD man shared concern about LGBTQ, and sexuality-based books; 130 titles pulled from the shelves and only 3 removed but 75% of the pulled books were LGBTQ inclusive
    • Hinojosa – Americans do not believe in censorship; told my research team to pull inappropriate things because library team are the professionals
    • We have never heard form Krause or attorney general; we only pulled one book
    • Stone – Challenges with a teacher assigning an inappropriate book choice; teachers make mistakes, and they are addressed on a case-by-case basis with little need to ban books
    • When Krause’s list was posted we reviewed the books; they were inclusive of the student in our school, so I defend their place in our school
  • Smith – Most superintendents seem not to have moved on this; what about you Scribner?
    • Scribner – I am not concerned about the SCJ stance on pornography; concerned with whose values we represent, and our goal is the educate all children not just the 85%
  • Smith – Legislature funds education; why shouldn’t they have a hand in it?
    • Scribner – The legislature should have a part as checks and balances
  • Smith – Local control fights are a part of every legislature; what is your opinion?
    • Hinojosa – Legislature has every right to make a law; democracy is ugly, but it is the best thing going
  • Smith – Are you insinuating that the legislature overstepped legal boundaries this session?
    • Hinojosa – Dallas ISD enacted mask mandates but we were never sued like other districts, but I know other districts were
  • Smith – Do you sympathize with the position that school boards are in right now?
    • Stone – Yes; we need to support these members because they are elected officials that are representing a voice in the community
    • Scribner – Parents need to have a voice on the school board; pandemic created a situation where at least 49% of people are unhappy with every decision you make
  • Smith – Has the governor, legislature and commissioner supported you through these though times?
    • Hinojosa – Before health officials were appointed, we were getting conflicting information about science; quibble with the governor but he has a whole state to make decisions for and I have a specific district
    • Stone – I presume that everyone is doing the best they can; pandemic support was there from the commissioner excluding getting sued for the mask mandate
    • Scriber – Impressed by commissioner and judge for stepping up but in communities with legislative alignment, it seems to be gong smoother
  • Smith – You all love your job; Hinojosa why aren’t you renewing your contract?
    • Hinojosa – I quit because I have a contract for 2 years; I cannot do another 10 and I am being selfish by not giving someone else an opportunity
  • Smith – Hinojosa are you running for mayor or not?
    • Hinojosa – Cannot say but I am thinking about it
  • Smith – You quit in the middle of the school year Stone, why?
    • Stone – Polarization and politics kept me form getting work done that needed to be done; a decision made for the betterment of the district and myself
  • Smith – You gave the district 2 years Scribner, why?
    • Scribner – Amazing board of trustees that can start the search after 20 years of work; would like to lift historically lowered voices

Questions from Audience

  • Each have talked about equity; how do we engage communities of color in leadership positions?
    • Scribner – Hold events like this in neighborhoods, their communities and not at 8am on a weekday
    • Stone – Meet parents where they are; translating meetings in Spanish
  • Reported that 80% of white nationalist propaganda comes from North Texas; what is the future of racial equity in your schools with legislative pressure to not discuss race?
    • Hinojosa – Board will not back off this issue; no one has challenged me on critical race theory
    • Stone – You’re looking at 3 districts in the state, maybe the only, that have an equity policy; the strongest thing a board can do, and it will supersede our terms
    • Scribner – We have a policy and division of equity and excellence; hard to argue against either of these things
  • There is a publicly declared war on school elections; what is impact on students, specifically black and brown?
    • Scribner – No impact on students; majority of 77,000 children do not pay attention to this foolishness because they are the minority
  • What % of curriculum goes into teaching government?
    • Hinojosa – We have a high school government class and an economic class; not enough government taught
  • All 3 of you have left your positions; what words would you give to your successors?
    • Hinojosa – Don’t let the tyranny of the minority influence decisions; loyalty first to the school and students
    • Stone – Take your teachers eyes with you because they are the ones closest to the students; choose what is best for all students
  • Learning loss from the pandemic is focused on so much but there is no focus on social and emotional health loss; why is mental health not talked about?
    • Scribner – Part of manufactured crisis is the downplay of social and emotional health
    • Hinojosa – We hired 8 mental health professionals in preparation for this; one of my biggest concerns for the future of education and student wellness