The Dallas ISD board of trustees tonight unanimously approved appointing Dr. Michael Hinojosa as the district’s interim superintendent. Hinojosa will return to the district after serving as the superintendent from 2005–2011. Hinojosa told trustees that he will lead the district for as long as they need and pledged to continue to support recent reforms approved by the board during the tenure of former superintendent Mike Miles. “Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Dallas Independent School District. This is where I went to school and where I started my career in education,” Hinojosa said. “I am honored…

The Dallas Independent School District will increase teacher salaries on average by approximately $2,300 as part of the $1.38 billion budget for the 2015-2016 school year approved by the Board of Trustees on June 25. The projected average teacher salary in Dallas ISD will increase by 4.3 percent to approximately $55,300 as part of the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), a plan approved by trustees last year that is believed to be one of the most innovative evaluation and compensation systems in the country.  Through TEI, Dallas teachers have the potential to earn significantly more in salary than the traditional compensation ladder.…

Dallas ISD Acting Superintendent Dr. Ann Smisko briefed trustees Thursday night on three recent surveys that asked targeted questions to students, parents, and campus staff to gather their feedback on the district. Trustees thanked district staff for compiling the survey results and asked several questions about specific parts of the different surveys. To learn more about the student survey, in which a strong majority of students said their teacher encouraged them to do their best; their teacher set high expectations; and their teacher clearly presented the information they needed to learn, click here. To learn more about the parent survey, in which 81 percent of…

Increasing reserves, manageable debt, a strong local economy and affordable retiree costs are among the reasons Fitch Ratings awarded the Dallas Independent School District a bond rating of AA+ for the second consecutive year. Fitch also again rated the Dallas ISD’s overall rating outlook as “stable.” According to Fitch, the ratings reflect the district’s commitment to effective fiscal management. The rating was made prior to the sale of $75 million in maintenance tax notes during the week of July 6. “The high ‘AA+’ rating reflects the district’s strong financial position and ample flexibility characterized by very sound fund balance and…