JUST WHAT DID RODRIGUEZ "LEADERSHIP" MAKE HAPPEN?

By Juan Montoya
Former "Coach" Joe Rodriguez is asking the voters of the Brownsville Independent School District for their vote under the slogan "Leadership that Will Make It Happen."
He faces two opponents in Place 4; Shirley La Bowman and Mary Rey.
It's a catchy slogan. But the voters are entitled to know just what Rodriguez will make "happen." 
Former BISD administrators and trustees still remember the costs that had to be paid to district employees who complained about having to work for former Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez for the benefit of his private non-profit.
"We had to pay about $28,000 as a result of their grievances in 2008," recalled one. "Coach Joe would use them at his fundraiser as well as BISD vehicles and other equipment. He used to have BISD coolers full of Coors beer at those functions against the policies of the district. There was never a full accounting of the amount taken in and the scholarships given out to students."

Another part of the Joe Rodriguez legacy came back to bite the district in the rear its fund balance. Just as Coach Joe would make use of district employees for his functions, the U.S. Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Division assessed fines totalling $45,920 against the district for using minors against the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The fines come under two provisions of the FLSA; hours standards and under legal age employment.

The Department of Labor probe covers only two years (2010 through 2012) but some BISD administrators say the district was fortunate it payed only the fines for two years instead of the larger amounts if investigators had go back even further.

"We lucked out," said an administrator. "If the Dept. of Labor had gone back to 2008 or before we'd be looking at perhaps $100,000s instead of the $45,000 they assessed in penalties for the last two years."

The fines were assessed because of the continued use by Rodriguez of BISD students (some as young as 12 or 13) to move the chains, chase balls, help with the setting up of the fields and other assorted tasks during football games and other sporting events. Others dealt with the violation of hours standards for 14 and 15 year olds.

In a report that Superintendent Carl Montoya gave the trustees, he informed them of the Dept. of Labor findings but did not give specifics on the locations and the amounts per site.
However, he did say that the money would have to come from the district's fund balance that had recently taken a hit from the settlement with former superintendent Hector Gonzales and former CFO Tony Juarez.

Below is a list of the sites and violations and the fines assessed.
1. Sam's Stadium – Hours standards, 1 violation (14-15): $1,150

Under Legal Age for Employment (12-13): $6,000

Total: $7,150
2. Pace High School – Hours standards, 5 minors (14-15)
Total: $2,795
3. Lopez High School– Hours standards, 5 violations (14-15)
Total: $1,725

4. Veterans High School – Hours standards, 8 violations

Total: $4,600
5. Besteiro Middle School – Hours standards, Under Legal Age for Employment, 7 minors (12-13)
Total: $20,220

6. Garcia Middle School – Hours standards, 5 violations, $2,875

Under Legal Age for Employment, 1 violation, $6,000

Total: $8,875

7. Hanna High School – Hours standards, 1 violation

Total: $575

Total Fines: $45,920

Rodriguez is asking the voters of the BISD to allow him to exercise his "Leadership That Will Make It Happen." They have to ask themselves: "Can the BISD really afford it?