New Group To Recruit Dallas School Board Candidates

By BJ Austin, KERA News

Dallas, TX –

A new political action committee called "Dallas Friends of Public Education", is gearing up for the November election, when THREE Dallas School Board seats are on the ballot. KERA's BJ Austin says the new group wants to find qualified candidates to run future elections, too.

One of the founding members is Harryette Ehrhardt -- a former state legislator and DISD Board member. She says Trustees should uphold fiscal responsibility and transparency; support magnet schools and learning centers; create a "fair" way of evaluating teachers; have strong ethics; and adhere to democratic principles. Veteran Dallas classroom teacher Maria Cruz agrees, and says change starts with School Board members.

Cruz: I have seen the impact of all the scandals that our district has gone through. And this has been extremely disruptive and has distracted from the primary purpose of our school district.

Ehrhardt points to the District's non-discrimination policy as evidence that a single board member CAN make a difference.

Ehrhardt: We're the only district that has that. And we have that because Jose Plata worked for it: one person, one school board member -- so one school board member can make a very big difference.

Ehrhardt says Dallas Friends of Public Education is comprised of taxpayers, teachers, and parents who want reform.

Today, at 5pm, is the deadline to file to run for School Board on the November 3rd ballot.

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