Last Thursday, Mayor Mike Rawlings walked out of a meeting that discussed turning Dallas Independent School District into a home-rule district. 

Rawlings has been a public supporter of DISD becoming a home-rule district, meaning the schools would not have to obey state laws. The mayor asked himself three questions before supporting the change to home-rule: "Does our school system need to be fixed? Can action, this home-rule process, help improve it? ... Do I personally want to put my time and effort into it?”

The mayor said later in the meeting, "I hope we don’t have to spend a lot of time talking about the status of our schools.”

Currently, more than two-thirds of DISD students can’t properly read by fourth grade. A committee called Support Our Public Schools is leading a petition to imrpove the district and consider changing to home-rule. 

During the meeting, Rawlings was interrupted twice during his presentations. He said, "You guys figure it out" and left the room. 

On Friday, Rawlings told The Dallas Morning News, “I left last night’s meeting early because I was interrupted numerous times with hostile comments from uninvited guests."