As more educators fail students, Dallas Independent School District Trustee Maxie Johnson has been named The Dallas Express’ Bad Apple of Quarter Four.
The Dallas Express names a bad apple each quarter. They consider “any student attending a school with a Student Achievement Score of 69 or below to be abandoned by the school district, the trustee within whose education district the student’s school is located, and the entire school board.”
Johnson was first elected to represent District 5 in May 2019. He is a pastor at New Morning Star Baptist Church in West Dallas and a graduate of Dallas ISD.
His biography page states that he has been working in the “community for more than 15 years as a community liaison, community organizer, and football and baseball coach.” Additionally, he boasts of having “advocated” for $52 million in improvements for South Oak Cliff High School.
Despite his lengthy biography, The Dallas Express claims Johnson has abandoned 8,160 students. Johnson represents Education District 5, which encompasses parts of the Oak Lawn area, West Dallas, the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins, and parts of eastern and southern Oak Cliff.
He had 15 schools in his district that earned below 70 out of 100 on their campus student achievement scores, which are based on the Texas Education Agency’s accountability reports for the 2021-2022 school year.
The ratings are listed as:
- Cedar Crest Elementary (D – 64)
- C.F. Carr Elementary (D – 69)
- Clara Oliver Elementary (D – 62)
- Dr. Frederick Douglass Todd Sr. Middle (F – 56)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt High School of Innovation (F – 59)
- Harrell Budd Elementary (D – 65)
- H.I. Holland at Lisbon Elementary (D – 60)
- J.N. Ervin Elementary (F – 55)
- John Lewis Social Justice Academy at Oliver Wendell Holmes (F – 57)
- John Neely Bryan Elementary (F – 56)
- Kennedy-Curry Middle (F – 59)
- L.G. Pinkston High (D – 67)
- South Oak Cliff High (D – 63)
- Whitney M. Young Jr. Elementary (F – 54)
- William Brown Miller Elementary (D – 64)
Currently in the third special session, legislators are taking up Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for school choice.
Last week, the Texas Senate passed multiple pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 1, which creates $8,000 educational savings accounts for students. The legislation passed by a vote of 18-13, and is currently in the House’s Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Committee awaiting a hearing.
Texas Scorecard reached out to Johnson for a comment but did not receive a response by publication.
