Beliefs in Action

Actions speak louder than words.

Ben is proud to have led or supported:

Students First. Every Day.

Every Dallas ISD student deserves the resources they need to succeed, every day.

• Instituted monthly, quantitative student outcome progress monitoring beginning in 2021-22, giving the board direct insight into achievement across the district. (June 2022)

• Dallas ISD is on track to achieve or surpass all of its literacy and math goals for the 2025-26 school year, with preliminary state exam scores showing growth across every category — approaching, meeting, and mastering grade level. (June 2026)

• Dallas ISD's continued improvement as one of the nation's fastest improving large, urban school districts, earning an '85 - B' rating from the State of Texas in 2026, up over 9 points since 2023. (Aug 2026)

• Closed the pre-pandemic gap on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, outperforming state and national recovery trends. (Jan 2025)

• More than 11% of Dallas ISD graduates now earn an associate degree before they finish high school, and 69% of Early College graduates leave with 60 college credit hours. A decade ago, fewer than 8% earned a degree within six years of graduating. (Nov 2024)

• The Class of 2026 earned a record $628.7 million in scholarship offers, with 99% of seniors applying to college and 97% receiving at least one acceptance. Nearly 1,700 graduates completed college coursework through P-TECH, Early College, and dual credit. (June 2026)

• Fully funded universal pre-kindergarten for every interested family in the district. (May 2026)

• Expanded the PK Partnership program by roughly half a million dollars, strengthening support for Dallas ISD pre-K students served at early childhood centers across the city. (June 2026)

• Launched an optional Pre-Primer pilot for 2026-27, giving students who need it a bridge year between kindergarten and first grade to build early literacy, phonics, and math skills. (June 2026)

• Eliminated suspensions for low-level offenses, replacing them with on-campus individualized socioemotional and academic support. Fighting referrals fell 60%, out-of-school placements 58%, and repeat offenses 47%. (May 2021, June 2022)

• Adopted first-of-its-kind policy to install cameras in all self-contained Special Education classrooms and to expand parent rights to audio-record their student's annual ARD discussion. (Feb 2020)

• Adopted an anti-discriminatory student dress code policy with increased protections for LGBTQ+ students and explicit protections for students wearing natural hair and natural hairstyles. (June 2020)

• Partnered with the City of Dallas to fund planning for technology infrastructure ensuring every Dallas ISD student has access to high-speed internet. (Aug 2020)

• Piloted two innovative calendar options — Intersession and School Year Redesign — to minimize long-term learning loss from the pandemic while building in individualized, small-group time for the students who needed it most. (Jan 2021)

Empowered & Supported Educators

Great schools are built by great teachers who are paid what they're worth, listened to, and trusted with the authority to do their jobs.

• Over $217.6 million in raises for educators across our system between the 19-20 school year through 2024-25, including over $147.1 million for teachers and raises for all other positions across the district. Over the past four years, average teacher salary has increased from $58K to over $70K for more than a 21% increase. (June 2019 - June 2024)

• Dallas ISD's starting teacher salary now stands at $68,000, against a regional average of $64,000, and average salaries for returning teachers exceed $78,000 before stipends. (May 2026)

• Increased teacher salaries by more than $37.5 million for 2026-27, averaging roughly a 5% raise, with total staff raises exceeding $56 million. (May 2026)

• Raised the minimum wage in Dallas ISD to ensure every employee earns a livable wage, now at $17.50 per hour and significantly above the surrounding region. (June 2023, May 2026)

• Staff climate survey results hit all-time highs across every single survey area for the second consecutive year — the highest since the survey began in 2017-18. (May 2026)

• Teacher applications hit record levels while retention continues to outpace the region and state, reflecting sustained investment in recruiting, developing, and keeping great educators. (Nov 2024)

• Exceeded the state, region, and surrounding DFW districts at retaining teachers through the 2020-21 pandemic school year and maintained that trend in 2022. (Dec 2021 & Dec 2022)

• Increased the share of Proficient-and-above teachers at High Priority Campuses by 30% between 2021 and 2022, putting the most effective teachers in front of the students who need them most, with progress monitored annually each June. (Nov 2022, June 2023)

• Increased empowerment and support for campus teachers and administrators, including a measurable, anonymous channel for educator feedback, written explicitly into the district's Educational Philosophy Policy. (Jan 2020)

• Aligned the Superintendent's Evaluation with district goals and constraints, with 60% tied directly to student outcomes and 22% to constraints including student experience, staff climate, staff empowerment, and financial stewardship. (Dec 2022)

• Championed a unanimous overhaul of BJCD(Local), the Superintendent evaluation policy, keeping the focus on district goals, giving the Superintendent written Board feedback in advance, and streamlining how that feedback is delivered. (June 2026)

• Improved the teacher evaluation system (TEI) by expanding how many teachers at non-magnet schools can reach 'Distinguished Teacher' status and refining how evaluation components are scored. (Feb 2020)

• Ensured all Dallas ISD employees kept their jobs and their income through the COVID-19 pandemic. (Mar 2020)

• Reduced PK-4 class size waivers by 37%, from 253 to 158, between November 2019 and November 2020. (Nov 2020)

Financial Sustainability

Every dollar Dallas ISD spends belongs to Dallas taxpayers, so it should be spent wisely, planned for the long haul, and kept as close to the classroom as possible.

• Decreased the local tax rate from $1.41 to $1.30 to $1.248 to $1.185, and now to a projected $0.99 per $100 of taxable value — the lowest legally allowable rate. (Aug 2019 – May 2026)

• Reduced central office staffing by more than 259 positions and $98 million over three years, redirecting those resources directly to campuses. (May 2026)

• Improved Dallas ISD’s bond rating to a AA+ in 2019 and then earned a AAA bond rating, the highest tier available, reducing the district's interest costs on every dollar borrowed. (Dec 2019, Dec 2024)

• Closed the 2024-25 audit with zero findings, a 'Superior' rating from TEA on the FIRST Financial Rating, and a fund balance of approximately $651 million — well above best practice. (Nov 2025)

• Ensured Dallas ISD receives a "very strong" rating during our annual audit, with no issues identified by the outside auditing firm. (Nov 2021)

• Delivered the $3.54 billion 2020 Bond program with zero increase to the property tax rate — 15 new schools opened in two years, 16 replacement campuses, 200+ campuses improved, and more than $5.7 billion in economic activity generated. (Nov 2025)

• Passed Bond Propositions A–D, positioning Dallas ISD to become the first large urban school district in America to eliminate deferred maintenance districtwide. (April 2026)

• Adopted a 10-year energy contract making Dallas ISD the first major district in the nation with a fully renewable energy contract, saving more than $1 million every year. (May 2022)

• Passed the Environmental & Climate Resolution and the resulting policy overhaul, producing a 29% decrease in landfill contributions, 42% decrease in water usage, 30% decrease in natural gas usage, and 9% decrease in energy usage. (Feb 2020, Nov 2021, May 2023)

• Generated more than half a million dollars in additional savings from district sustainability practices in energy, food, construction, transportation, and maintenance — money returned directly to schools and classrooms. (Feb 2025)

• Overhauled CL(Local) board policy in line with the Environmental & Sustainability Council's recommendations, prioritizing renewable energy contracts, water and energy efficiency, tree canopy goals, and LEED-ready buildings. (Nov 2021)

• Secured a $7.3 million federal grant to purchase up to 25 electric school buses. (Nov 2022)

• Created the Community Resource Index, the metric Dallas ISD uses to direct resources toward the communities most historically dis-invested in across Dallas's history. (Jan 2020)

• Established "Joint Project Funding" as a mechanism improving collaboration between governmental entities to raise effectiveness while lowering risk. (Jan 2020)

• Overhauled district purchasing policies as chair of the Procurement Committee, closing loopholes and improving the efficiency of procurement. (Feb 2020)

• Consolidated district warehousing from five scattered locations into one centralized facility, cutting ongoing operating costs. (May 2026)

If you support these beliefs in action, join us.