BISD REWARDS OSCAR CANTU JR. FOR BEHAVING BADLY

By Juan Montoya

How do you reward someone who has left a middle school in disgrace after philandering with a subordinate, lied about his academic credentials when applying for a job with the district, and then – after a paid one-year sabbatical for alleged mental stress – is then disgraced publicly in the local daily for claiming (along with his dad Oscar Sr.) that he held a doctorate in education?
The Brownsville Independent School District knows how.
You make a him the principal at Canales Elementary.
Only a few months after Oscar Cantu Sr. and Oscar Cantu Jr. were outed by the Brownsville Herald's Gary Long for claiming they had a doctorate when in fact they both used non-accredited Ph.D. degrees, Cantu Jr. has been selected for the Canales head administrator's position.
Both Cantu Sr. – who retired after the degree scandal appeared in the local newspaper – and Oscar Jr., had listed doctoral degrees obtained in 2005 from Canbourne University, an online, unaccredited institution that appears on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s list of "Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas."
Cantu Sr. will be replaced by Debbie Alford, the former principal of Canales, another administrator who was so unpopular with her teaching staff that at least a score of them filed complaints against her with the state.
Cantu Jr. has been serving as a special assignment administrator at the Brownsville Early College High School and has previous experience as principal of both Cromack Elementary and Garcia Middle School.
It was at this last school that Cantu allegedly became involved with a teacher under his supervision that resulted in his dismissal from that position. The woman allegedly became pregnant as a result.
Miraculously, Cantu Jr. was given a one-year sabbatical to recover from "mental stress" before he was handed the Early College plum job on the same campus as his father who was then director of continuing education.
The latest move by BISD Superintendent Brett Springston has left may district observers aghast.
"This is the guy who lied when he applied for his job with the BISD," said one. "This is the example we want to give our children? The personnel manual states that claiming false credential on your application is grounds for dismissal or immediate termination. What happened here?"
Others point out that Cantu Jr. is former BISD trustee Graciana de Peña's son-in-law and that the former trustee still hold enough political clout on the board to get her way.
Whatever the reasons the administration may have had to do it, the move is not sitting well with those who feel that positions of responsibility such as that of principal at an elementary school should go to people who have proven they have integrity and respect in the community.
"This sort of thing never ends," complained one. "Even after Cantu Jr. ans Sr. admit they lied about their qualifications, Springston turns around and shoves it in the faces of the residents of the district. Where is the newspaper in this? This is just too much."