Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas To protect students parents schools and taxpayers from a needless and dangerous bureaucracy Senator Don Huffines (right R-Dallas) filed Senate Bill 1122 to create an orderly and thoughtful wind-down of Dallas County Schools (DCS) followed by complete abolition.
Dallas County Schools is an antiquated county-wide school district that doesnt hire teachers or educate students. It is one of only two county-wide districts that continues to exist in Texas.
Said Huffines
Dallas County Schools is dangerous unreliable and fiscally reckless. This rogue bureaucracy is dangerous for students and a rip-off for taxpayers.
According to reporting by Dallas NBC Channel 5 (KXAS) DCS bus drivers ran hundreds of red lights and paid the tickets with taxpayer dollars while holding no one accountable. The practice continued until the agency was publicly called-out by the media.According to NBC 5 reporting: …480 traffic citations have been issued to DCS school bus drivers since Jan. 1 2014. In some cases bus drivers were even caught on camera running past other school buses that had their stop arms extended for loading or unloading students.
According to Huffines
Students and parents deserve better than DCS. When a child boards a school bus parents should be able to trust that he or she will arrive at school safely and on time. This is a promise that DCS has broken repeatedly and thats unacceptable.
DCS has put students at risk and for that Im seeking to do right by students and parents by abolishing this dangerous bureaucracy Huffines said.
Dallas County Schools recently reported that it is facing a $42 million budget deficit. $30 million of that money - taxpayers money - is missing. Board members claim to have been left in the dark about the dire state of the agencys finances. The bureaucracy may miss a payment on its $73.5 million of taxpayer-supported bond debt raising questions about the potentially imminent collapse of the agency.
Concluded Senator Huffines Student safety is my first priority and taxpayer accountability is a very close second. DCS fails both tests.
Students parents schools and taxpayers deserve better which is why Im leading the effort for an orderly and thoughtful wind-down. Senate Bill 1122 will let us close the book on the ugly dangerous and wasteful history of DCS Huffines said.
Senator Don Huffines represents the North half of Dallas County in the Texas Senate.
