Dallas, TX
Laid-off Dallas employees of the Department of Education leave office for the last time
Civil rights attorney Melissa Malonson emptied her desk at the downtown Dallas office of the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday morning, stuffing her life’s work into cardboard boxes.
Malonson, who worked for the department for 25 years, packed planners, textbooks and certificates. In one box, a crayon drawing from her daughter was tucked next to a framed certificate marking ten years of service with the Education Department from 2009.
She walked out of the office at 1201 Elm St. for the last time with about two dozen supporters — mostly other federal employees — cheering for her.
Malonson, 51, burst into tears. Her aunt hugged her and said, “We got you. We got you.”
Malonson was one of more than 4,000 federal employees laid off in March when the Education Department eliminated six of its regional offices, including Dallas.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the department shortly after. That order is being challenged in court.
“Students and parents are the ones that are going to suffer,” Malonson said. “The bulk of what we do is help disabled kids.”
The department’s Office of Civil Rights enforces federal laws that protect students against discrimination. It responds to complaints based on race, disability, age and national origin discrimination, among others.
Texas has more than a thousand cases under review at OCR. More than half are related to students with disabilities whose families reported concerns about improper restraint, harassment, denial of benefits, challenges to accessing free and appropriate education, and more.
As a lawyer for the department, Malonson helped make schools more accessible for children with disabilities by investigating claims and working with school system leaders to implement changes.
That included adapting playgrounds and ensuring school personnel carried insulin when going on field trips with students who have diabetes, she said.
The now former employees of the Dallas office are unsure who will tackle its most fundamental work, including handling civil rights complaints for students with disabilities and managing student financial aid.
Trump said at the order signing that much of the department’s work would go to states or other federal agencies. The move is part of his effort to downsize and streamline the federal government. For example, the administration previously announced hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to contracts with the Department of Education.
Before closing, those working for the Office for Civil Rights in the Dallas office investigated cases across Texas and in other southern states.
People have emailed Malonson in recent weeks, asking about the status of their civil rights complaints, she said. Malonson doesn’t know where those cases will go now.
Department of Education officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment over email.
Former staffers worry that civil rights investigations, which often take months or years to complete, will stall under the cuts. Families were frustrated with the delays even before Trump’s administration eliminated several regional offices.
Cynthia Thornton spent 17 years at the office working on getting financial aid into the hands of students so they could attend college.
When she walked into the building to turn in her laptop and a company credit card Tuesday, she wondered who would make sure “students get the money they deserve.”
“I just hope the administration will continue to advocate for the students and not let predatory and proprietary lenders and schools take advantage of students,” Thornton said. “It’s in the administration’s hands.”
Malonson thought about how being an attorney for the department was her first job after graduating from law school at the University of Texas at Austin in 1999.
Born and raised in Carrollton, she worked her way up from general attorney to supervisor attorney.
On Tuesday, she pulled out a photograph with a mentor who guided her during her first years from her boxes of belongings. It brought her to tears.
“This was my career,” she said. “This was my dream job, and I was really good at it, too.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism, Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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