Why We Are Voting For Props A & B
As school board trustees of the Dallas Independent School District, it’s important that the decisions we make are informed by all members of the community we serve. That’s why we are proud to have recently opened eligibility to our advisory committees to non-citizen residents. That’s also why, as private citizens, we write today in hopes you’ll do the same for the City of Dallas by voting “FOR” Propositions A and B on your May ballot.
Our recent decision passed unanimously. All nine of our members, bringing a diversity of backgrounds and political affiliations, supported this change. That’s because, in order for advisory committees to be effective in a city or school district as large and diverse as Dallas, it’s critical they are representative of the entire population being served.
Immigrants, which comprise not only the undocumented but legal permanent residents and refugees, make up 24% of our city’s population, 32% of its workforce, and over 40% of its demographic growth between 2011 and 2016. To categorically deny ourselves the ability to appoint any of these community members under any and all circumstances would only serve to curtail our ability to make informed decisions.
Our immigrant neighbors are already contributing to our schools and other civic institutions in other ways. Noncitizens are allowed to and do serve in the U.S. military. And a recent report from New American Economy demonstrates that new Americans in Dallas contributed nearly $2 billion in federal taxes and over $500 million in state and local taxes.
Allowing non-citizens to serve on advisory boards is well within constitutional parameters. Advisory boards and commissions exist in order to provide input, insight, and recommendations to elected board members or council people. It is still the responsibility of those duly elected officials to determine not only who should be appointed to said boards, but whether any recommendations made will be reflected in final policy decisions. Moreover, advisory board and commission positions are unpaid, volunteer positions. Thousands of non-citizens already work in paid government and private sector jobs. Allowing elected officials to appoint noncitizens to serve as unpaid volunteers to simply provide insight and ideas is not a threat to anyone, but rather it helps our elected leaders have fewer blind spots as they are getting a more complete set of advice and recommendations.
In spite of this, there has been an unfortunate amount of hand-wringing and hesitancy, particularly as it relates to inclusion on the city’s decennial redistricting commission. Critics allege only registered voters should be able to provide input to elected officials on how communities are (or aren’t) represented on legislative maps.
But who better than neighborhood residents themselves to provide information about their neighborhoods, regardless of personal history and background? We find these critiques unpersuasive, particularly in light of both historic precedent and recent controversy.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that our schools have a constitutional obligation to serve every student who enters our doors. Council members have a duty to represent all of the residents of their districts. Both the school board and city council have recently signed resolutions that reinforce this responsibility, rededicating ourselves to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
A vote “FOR” Propositions A and B is, at a very basic level, a vote for inclusion. And with it, greater diversity and equity can follow. It is our responsibility as citizens empowered with voting rights to reflect these core values. Otherwise, they remain only words.
Joe Carreon
Karla Garcia
Justin Henry
Ben Mackey
Dan Micciche
