As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 164,500 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 19,234 employees including 10,500 teachers in 218 schools.
27 Nov 2001
DALLAS-Urban Park Elementary School, which suffered a roofing collapse during an August rainstorm, fell victim to burglars over the Thanksgiving Holidays, with more than 30 pieces of electrical equipment taken.
The Urban Park office was moved into a portable building earlier this school year after the roof in the main part of the building collapsed under the weight of several inches of standing rain water. No students were injured in the August incident, but the building has been under renovation ever since.
Investigators believe that the burglar(s) broke into the school's office, which is now housed in a portable. Once in the school's temporary office, the burglar(s) took keys to the remaining portables on the campus. In all, the burglars took the following items: 10 television sets, 10 telephones, six walkie-talkies, five radios, one computer printer and one laser disc-player.
"We are clearly disturbed that Urban Park Elementary has again become a victim of the structural problems that are occurring at one of the oldest schools in the Dallas Independent School District," Superintendent Mike Moses said.
DISD has called for a $1.37 billion bond election to be put before the public on January 19, 2002. If approved, schools such as Urban Park would receive considerable infrastructure improvements, and even building additions which would reduce the number of portable classrooms on school campuses. The Urban Park matter has been turned over to the Dallas Police Department.