Fears rise with DISD overhaul

Only the incompetent should worry, Rojas says

Only the Paranoid Survive . That’s the book Dr. Bill Rojas told Dallas school administrators they should read.

That suggestion from the incoming Dallas superintendent apparently wouldn’t surprise many people who worked with Dr. Rojas at his last job, as school superintendent in San Francisco.

According to a recent report from a San Francisco civil grand jury, Dr. Rojas generated “a feeling of fear and mistrust between the teachers and principals on the one hand, and the superintendent and his staff on the other.” The report also says a principal was instructed not to answer the jury’s questions.

Now, after Dr. Rojas has spent one month in his new job, many school district employees say his massive reorganization of district leadership is creating a similar atmosphere of paranoia and fear in Dallas.

Dr. Rojas said he has no doubt that many Dallas employees now have a sense of unease. He also doesn’t worry about it.

“The only thing they have to fear is their competency or lack of it,” he said. “If they lack it and can’t quickly adjust, then yes, their employment status becomes very iffy.

“If you can’t get respect, fear will do.”

One veteran Dallas administrator who worked for at least five superintendents before Dr. Rojas calls this reorganization the most daunting he has seen, with entire departments going through upheavals.

One of the most deeply affected departments is bilingual education. The department chief has been reassigned, and many other administrators have been sent back to the classroom.

What’s more, district officials say, Dr. Rojas plans to change the philosophy and direction of bilingual education in Dallas.

Controversial start

Dr. Rojas’ actions have sparked controversy since his arrival in August. He hired six administrators at salaries up to $ 175,000 – about $ 47,000 more than the top salary previously paid to anyone below superintendent level.

All but one of the top-dollar hires were for new positions, and most were people who had worked for Dr. Rojas in San Francisco – including Emily Den, a lawyer who, according to the grand jury, instructed a principal not to respond to the panel’s questions.

Administrators said they have been receiving as little as a day’s notice about reassignments. Security guards and receptionists at the central administration building frequently ask for employees’ names and reasons for visiting when they enter the building, several employees said. Some high-level officials said they have been turned away from their assigned parking spots.

Employees’ fear is obvious, said Alfred Carrizales , chairman of the school district’s Latino Advisory Committee.

“When you call an office and ask for information, they say, “Check next week. If I’m still here in this office, I’ll help you. If I’m not, I can’t.’ ” he said.

Mr. Carrizales objected to a new rule requiring visitors to sign in at district headquarters.

“We’re paying for these folks’ salaries. That is absurd,” he said. “It makes you wonder who is paranoid here.”

Hard-hit department

Mr. Carrizales said he also worries about the next steps the district may take with bilingual students.

Last week, Evangelina Carmona-Cortez was removed from her job as assistant superintendent in charge of multilingual education and reassigned to the research division. At least four other administrators in the department also were reassigned.

Ms. Carmona-Cortez said she was told the department was being restructured and downsized.

Dr. Rojas said the district’s bilingual education effort “wasn’t qualitative enough. It wasn’t aggressive enough.” He has instructed deputies to return as many as people as possible to schools to fill teaching vacancies.

“We’re all getting the feeling that this is a throw-away year for everybody while reorganization goes on,” Mr. Carrizales said.

As Dr. Rojas shakes up the administration, he still faces lingering issues from his seven years in San Francisco, including the jury report.

The civil grand jury – an institution that does not exist in Texas – was convened to check the San Francisco district’s compliance with a new California law requiring districts to replace bilingual education with intensive instruction in English. The report is a nonbinding critique.

Dr. Rojas had opposed the new law and maintained that a federal consent decree required his schools to continue to offer instruction to students in English and Spanish.

In its report, the jury said, “it was very clear that there existed a party line . . . and that the superintendent and his staff wanted the answers to our questions orchestrated according to what they wanted and not necessarily what was happening in the schools.”

Rojas’ response

Dr. Rojas discounted the report, saying jury members had political as well as legal agendas, and he therefore thought it necessary to send attorneys to meet with them.

“We don’t suffer fools as kindly as others,” he said.

A San Francisco school board member said the report correctly depicted the superintendent.

“His management style is, you give them my line or you won’t be here,” Dan Kelly said.

Kent Mitchell, president of the San Francisco teachers union, disagreed, saying the grand jury’s criticism was based on politics.

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Kelly did agree that Dr. Rojas left the San Francisco district in what they called a financial mess.

A preliminary state audit released last month said auditors found patterns of overspending and unsound financial practices. Dr. Rojas has disputed those findings.

In San Francisco, he worked on finances with Bill Coleman, now chief operations officer in Dallas.

“We’re in deep trouble because the house of cards collapsed,” Mr. Mitchell said. “You could easily criticize them for being responsible for taking risks.”

The union president said he agreed with Dr. Rojas’ reasoning that the state didn’t provide enough funding.

“But Coleman, who is a skillful financial man, and Rojas worked out a bubble-gum-and-bailing-wire approach to put together programs that California would not support,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“I wouldn’t call it bubble gum,” Dr. Rojas said. “It was the best budget in the state of California.” He acknowledged that he “stretched” his district’s budget to provide much-needed programs, but that his actions were fiscally sound.

FBI investigation

A San Francisco weekly newspaper reported recently that the FBI is investigating a business relationship between the district and a contractor named Charlie Walker. Dr. Rojas hired Mr. Walker for a project in 1996.

Dr. Rojas said Tuesday that he spoke with FBI officials and that they denied that they were investigating him or the school district.

Mr. Walker, who was hired to clear a vacant lot to make room for portable classrooms, said he doesn’t know whether the FBI is investigating his dealings with the district. But he said he has heard that the bureau is scrutinizing his ties to the city.

Dallas school board President Roxan Staff said it’s too early to judge Dr. Rojas’ management style.

Ms. Staff said Dr. Rojas also told her about Only the Paranoid Survive , written by Intel Corp. chairman Andrew Grove.

“If you went into any newly acquired company, you would find the same feelings just because of the fear of unknown,” she said.

Trustee Jose Plata praised Dr. Rojas’ approach, saying changes must be made because too many students are failing.

“I’m glad they’re paranoid,” he said.



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