Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says Mike Rawlings “heart in right place” with DISD home rule plan

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Wednesday praised Mayor Mike Rawlings for pushing a controversial home rule initiative for the Dallas Independent School District.

“What I perceived the mayor is trying to do is what we’re all trying to do in the state of Texas and that is to try to find solutions that would assure more local control, greater flexibility to improve education,” Abbott said after touting his own public school proposals at Kipp Truth Academy in southern Dallas. “His goal is consistent with where parents in this state and communities are, and where most leaders in this state are and that is we want to improve failing schools.”

Rawlings’ effort at public school reform has been hampered by the poorly executed public campaign to change DISD from state control to a new local form of governance.

The group pushing campaign, called Support Our Public Schools, has been widely criticized for the unpopularity of the idea.

Abbott, the Republican nominee for Texas governor, didn’t address the problems related to the proposal, though he did throw his support behind Rawlings.

“His heart is in the right place,” Abbott said. “The Dallas leadership is focus on improving schools and we all want to do that.”