Transparency leads to Truth, and Truth leads to Accountability.

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The purpose of “Begin With Truth” is to provide truthful and useful information to the public about the operations and programs of the Arlington Independent School District (AISD).  The AISD Board of Trustees (Board), as elected officials in a position of trust, have an ethical duty and legal responsibility to be fully transparent and truthful to AISD voters on all issues, including moral issues, academic excellence, student discipline and safety, and fiscal responsibility.  Put another way – why should taxpayers trust the Board with their vote, if the Board refuses to trust parents and taxpayers with the truth?  If the Board refuses to provide responsive and truthful answers to taxpayer questions in one area (such as AISD teaching and promoting moral values), how can taxpayers trust the Board to tell the truth in other areas – such as academic excellence, student discipline and safety, and wise use of all taxpayer dollars.

It is particularly important for the Board to be fully transparent and truthful with parents and taxpayers when discussing sensitive moral issues.  In the area of AISD teaching moral values, all AISD parents and taxpayers have the following rights:

  • Right to know if AISD believes that they have a responsibility/obligation to teach moral values to their students – even if this moral teaching contradicts the moral teaching and religious beliefs of the student’s parents
  • Right to know what legal authority AISD has to teach moral values to their students – particularly when this teaching will likely interfere with the legal rights of parents under Texas state law to direct the moral and religious training of their children – Texas Family Code, Section 151.001(a)(1)
  • Right to know what specific moral standard/code AISD is teaching their students
  • Right to know what moral values AISD is teaching/promoting to students in the areas of racial equity, abortion, same sex attraction, gender idendity/transgender issues (or other moral issues unrelated to traditional academic subjects)
  • Right to know whether AISD is committed to fully disclosing these moral teachings to parents and guardians of their students and obtain informed parental consent before AISD provides moral instruction to the parent’s child

The obvious solution to this dilemma is for AISD (and all other taxpayer-funded public schools) to simply stay out of the “morality lane” and focus exclusively on teaching academic subjects.  If you would like to help with our efforts to seek transparency, truth, and accountablility from AISD – please volunteer to help by sending us your contact information on the CONTACT section of this website.  Also, if you have any information about AISD employees concealing questionable conduct from the public, please report that conduct in the CONTACT section.  Parents and taxpayers have the right to know the truth about what AISD is teaching (indoctinating) our children – using taxpayer funds.  By Texas law, parents have the right and duty to direct the moral and religious training of their children – not the government.  Texas Family Code, Sections 151.001 (a)(1) and 151.003.

In the future, I hope to expand this effort to seek transparency, truth, and accountability from other elected officials (mayor and city council) here in Arlington, Texas.

kids in the classroom

About

My name is David Jarvis, a resident of Arlington, Texas since 1986.  After graduation from infantry officer basic, Airborne and Ranger schools, I served four years on active duty as an infantry officer in the United States Army in Germany, Thailand, and Fort Hood, Texas.  After attending law school, I served three years on active duty as an Army lawyer at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  From 1980-1997, I continued my military service in the U.S. Army Reserve.  I retired as a certified military judge, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve.

In Dec 2021, I retired after serving over 34 years as an Assistant United States Attorney primarily investigating and prosecuting fraud schemes while working in both the Dallas and Fort Worth offices of the Northern District of Texas.  For many years I have had a strong interest in promoting free speech, religious freedom, and parental rights issues—especially in our local public schools.  I have worked with legal organizations that protect these rights, including the Alliance Defending Freedom – an organization committed to protect free speech, religious freedom and parental rights.  Our children attended Arlington Independent School District (AISD) schools from elementary through high school.

From November 2022 to December 2023, I filed seventeen (17) formal grievances trying to find out what AISD is teaching their students – particularly in areas related to moral training and instruction.  My initial approach was to first send an email with questions to a senior AISD official and later to the AISD Superintendent.  My email questions were never answered – forcing me to email the same questions to the AISD Board of Trustees (the Board).  I have also offered to meet with and informally discuss my concerns with the Board.  However, the pattern is always the same – the Board refuses to answer my questions and/or discuss my concerns.  The Board also refuses to refer me to a knowledgeable AISD Administrator who can discuss my concerns and answer my questions.  Without exception, the Board simply ignores my email questions.  Due to the lack of response from the Board, I am forced to file a formal AISD written grievance which compels AISD to respond to my questions.  However, the grievance process includes four levels – taking 7-8 months to get your complaint (grievance) before the Board (Level 4).   If I was not retired, I would clearly not have the time to use this tedious grievance process.  If a parent or taxpayer was still working and raising a family, it is highly unlikely they would have the time to work through the grievance process.  In my opinion, the grievance process is designed to exhaust the parent or taxpayer – until they are worn out and forced to drop their complaint against AISD.

Thus far, the Board has been far from a “model of transparency”.  Indeed,  the Board, the AISD General Counsel’s Office, and some AISD officials have actively resisted and obstructed my efforts to learn the truth about the conduct of AISD officials as well as AISD operations and programs.  The Board knows that transparency leads to the truth, which leads to accountability at the next election.  The Board wants to avoid accountability at the ballot box – so they consistently conceal the truth by refusing to answer my questions.

 

 

 

All parents and taxpayers have a right to expect elected officials to timely provide truthful and responsive answers to their questions.  I want to both encourage and equip parents to be engaged in the serious work of seeking and demanding truth in and from government at all levels (not just public schools but also city and county governments).