The Dallas ISD’s Board of Trustees enacted a policy designed to ensure the inclusion of minority and women-owned businesses in its purchasing and contracting activities. Today, the Dallas ISD Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Department is strategically working to achieve the board’s goals and has received numerous awards and recognitions. Informate DFW, a magazine that promotes advancements in the Hispanic community, recently profiled Latinas in Business Diversity. Tommi Lyle, M/WBE Coordinator, was featured for the excellent work she has done within the community. “We are constantly busy, but it’s worth it because we love raising awareness about the opportunities minority and…

While studying in college at the University of Texas in 2012, Luis Juarez-Trevino was biking to the pawnshop to sell his class ring to financially survive another week when he heard President Barack Obama had announced the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process. DACA allows select undocumented individuals who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines to legally live and work in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Juarez, an undocumented student whose family moved from Monterrey, Mexico to Dallas in 2004, had gone from speaking no English to being a top student at…

With its successful offering of $75 million in bonds earlier this month, the Dallas Independent School District was able to obtain funds for repairing, equipping and replacing existing school facilities while saving taxpayer money. The proceeds from bond financing, known as Multi-Modal Limited Maintenance Tax Notes, will finance some of the improvements outlined in the $148 million Interim Bridge Plan approved in March by the Board of Trustees. Potential improvements under the full plan include classroom and campus renovations, heating and air conditioning system improvements, and the renovation of instructional and instructional support facilities. Due to its strong financial position,…

In late March, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees approved a plan to invest approximately $148 million into addressing critical needs at district schools. In August, four new schools funded by the Bridge Plan, as it is called, will open or reopen to students. Ed Levine, Dallas ISD executive director of Construction Services, said the district has been diligently working to adhere to the aggressive construction schedule that will open or reopen the four schools less than five months after trustees passed the Bridge Plan. “It is taking a lot of work, but the schools will be ready for students…