Dallas Board To Rehire All But 40 of 257 Laid-Off Teachers

By Ann Bradley

The Dallas school board last week approved a plan to rehire all but 40 of the 257 teachers whose dismissal had sparked a series of demonstrations by disgruntled students.

But the school board rejected a proposal by Superintendent of Schools Marvin Edwards to raise the property-tax rate another half percentage point, which would have generated enough money to hire back all of the pink-slipped teachers.

In response to the district's loss of $47 million in state aid under Texas' new school-finance plan, the school beard earlier had voted to increase taxes 17.5 percent. But board members at that time balked at raising taxes even more in order...