By Juan Montoya
For almost a year, the majority on the Brownsville Independent School District h
as defied the Texas Attorney General and the public by fighting the release of two reports critical of embattled Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez.
For almost a year, the majority on the Brownsville Independent School District h
as defied the Texas Attorney General and the public by fighting the release of two reports critical of embattled Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez.Finally, one day before Rodriguez's attorneys were to depose BISD member Catalina Presas Garcia to find out where she got the reports that she turned over to the Cameron County District Attorney to begin a possible criminal investigation over their contents, the BISD has blinked and relented.
On Friday, Presas-Garcia was scheduled to be deposed by Rodriguez's attorneys, as was Accion America President Calos Quintanilla and Rrun-rrun blog publisher Juan Montoya. Quintanilla was suspected of having given Presas Garcia copies of the reports, which he denied. Montoya published the two reports on the Rrun-rrun site.
During executive session Tuesday the BISD board decided it wasn't worth the grief and voted unanimously not to fight the release of the reports.
The two reports were prepared by the BISD. One was prepared on Sept. 3, 2008 by the Human Resources Department. The other (Part A and B) were prepared Dec. 2, 2008 by the BISD's lead auditor. The reports contain alleged improprieties by Rodriguez over the use of BISD personnel and resources.
A local resident had requested copies of the report, as did the Brownsville Herald on Jan. 27. When the AG issued an opinion that the reports were public documents, the BISD sued the state in Travis County to fight the order.
With this new decision by the board, the two reports, which were previously posted widely on various Internet sites including this one, will now be released to the press and public.
So why did majority on the board delay their release and subject Presas-Garcia to legal proceedings after she presented the reports to the DA?
The only plausible answer is that they were trying to intimidate and harass her because she would not stand by and let them use the legal and financial resources of the district to protect potential criminal activity in the athletic department.
This in itself speaks volumes about the direction that the majority on the board is taking this school district. Now that the former superintendent Hector Gonzalez has put the board on notice that he will fight his firing and the decision by the director of the Texas Education Agency, the real fight begins.
4 comments:
It is Colunga Time, Joe Must Go and we mean Colunga.
Joe, and Rick and Rolando and Ruben, and maybe even Enrique must go. But let's wait until it all comes out in the open. There is more to come.
Cata no se raja! Why, because she's got her facts straight. Wachate, Rick; y tambien te llevas a Ruben y Rolando contigo de una vez!
Where or what site can we search to read the contents of the reports prepared against Rodriguez?
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