By Juan MontoyaThe University of Texas System is ratcheting up the pressure on the Texas Southmost College board of trustees to approve and sign the extortive so-called "partnership agreement" that virtually abolishes the junior college as a community entity.
The word came down from none other than TSC counsel Daniel Rentfro that the UT Regents expect the agreement signed sealed and delivered to their ivory tower within a matter of two weeks.
However, during their meeting Tuesday, board members who back the deal shied away from publicly supporting it, choosing instead to table the item. Now insiders say that board chairman Kiko Rendon will instead hold a public hearing on the partnersihp agreement that would tie down the community college to the UT System for the next 80 years.
"The trustees were surprised that the information was all over the blogs and that people knew what was in the agreement," said a witness. "They knew it would be suicide to come out and do the UT System's rush job and pay the consequences.
But many college staff members know that the trustees - especially UT graduate Trey Mendez - are under intense pressure by UTB-TSC president Juliet Garcia, Rentfro and the Austin Regents to approve the deal.
"They're between the devil and the deep blue sea," said a faculty member. "Austin and Garcia want them to railroad this through with as little information getting to the public as possible. They didn't expect people to find out before they did it."
El Rrun-Rrun has acquired a draft of the agreement and its contents should raise red flags at every home in the district that has paid taxes to maintain the college operations.
"The new entity, UTB/TSC, is established by the Texas legislature as a new component of the University of Texas System," the proposed accord reads.
"The partners contribute resources, including land, buildings, equipment, bank deposits, investments, and other assets to set up UTB/TSC, for the use and benefit of the new entity. UTB/TSC assumes the outstanding liabilities associated with these assets and the previous operations of UTB and TSC, except that UT System and TSC remain liable for its bond debt." Nowhere is there any clarification if this includes the more than $10 million in rent arrears that the UT System has incurred and has refused to pay the local taxpayer.
Y aun hay mas.
* "Authority: The UT Board of Regents, as the managing partner will manage the business and affairs of UTB/TSC on behalf of the Partnership, except for (1) major organizational divisions which require consent of both partners, and
(2) day to day operational decisions, which are vested in the administration of UTB/TSC.
The agreement calls for the president to be selected and appointed not by the local board, but by the UT Board of Regents. The TSC board will be allowed to "advise " the Regents, including discussions of the final candidates in a joint executive session. In other words, in secret.
The president will be an employee of UTB/TSC and may be removed (only) by the Board of Regents.
"Other Officers of UTB/TSC: The President may designate and remove other officers and assign them duties and powers as needed for the management of UTB/TSC.
Then, a few more goodies for Juliet.
"The partners will use their respective efforts to fund the curriculum and programs of UTB/TSC through state funding, additional state funding, the issuance of bonds, other legal obligations, ad valorem taxes, rentals, charges, fees, and other resources of the Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees.
So there you have it. TSC is being asked to turn over all its real estate, buildings, assets, bank deposits, etc., and to continue as a taxing entity with the ability to issue debt. In return, the college has a minority voice (they can advise and discuss) in the final selection of the president (Juliet, we assume), and she will have unbridled authority to hire promote (and fire) whoever she wants.
And you want to know who is on the Board of Regents of the UT System?
How about James E. Dannenbaum, Chairman of Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation? Does the name ring a bell? How about $21 million bells?
The word came down from none other than TSC counsel Daniel Rentfro that the UT Regents expect the agreement signed sealed and delivered to their ivory tower within a matter of two weeks.
However, during their meeting Tuesday, board members who back the deal shied away from publicly supporting it, choosing instead to table the item. Now insiders say that board chairman Kiko Rendon will instead hold a public hearing on the partnersihp agreement that would tie down the community college to the UT System for the next 80 years.
"The trustees were surprised that the information was all over the blogs and that people knew what was in the agreement," said a witness. "They knew it would be suicide to come out and do the UT System's rush job and pay the consequences.
But many college staff members know that the trustees - especially UT graduate Trey Mendez - are under intense pressure by UTB-TSC president Juliet Garcia, Rentfro and the Austin Regents to approve the deal.
"They're between the devil and the deep blue sea," said a faculty member. "Austin and Garcia want them to railroad this through with as little information getting to the public as possible. They didn't expect people to find out before they did it."
El Rrun-Rrun has acquired a draft of the agreement and its contents should raise red flags at every home in the district that has paid taxes to maintain the college operations.
"The new entity, UTB/TSC, is established by the Texas legislature as a new component of the University of Texas System," the proposed accord reads.
"The partners contribute resources, including land, buildings, equipment, bank deposits, investments, and other assets to set up UTB/TSC, for the use and benefit of the new entity. UTB/TSC assumes the outstanding liabilities associated with these assets and the previous operations of UTB and TSC, except that UT System and TSC remain liable for its bond debt." Nowhere is there any clarification if this includes the more than $10 million in rent arrears that the UT System has incurred and has refused to pay the local taxpayer.
Y aun hay mas.
* "Authority: The UT Board of Regents, as the managing partner will manage the business and affairs of UTB/TSC on behalf of the Partnership, except for (1) major organizational divisions which require consent of both partners, and
(2) day to day operational decisions, which are vested in the administration of UTB/TSC.
The agreement calls for the president to be selected and appointed not by the local board, but by the UT Board of Regents. The TSC board will be allowed to "advise " the Regents, including discussions of the final candidates in a joint executive session. In other words, in secret.
The president will be an employee of UTB/TSC and may be removed (only) by the Board of Regents.
"Other Officers of UTB/TSC: The President may designate and remove other officers and assign them duties and powers as needed for the management of UTB/TSC.
Then, a few more goodies for Juliet.
"The partners will use their respective efforts to fund the curriculum and programs of UTB/TSC through state funding, additional state funding, the issuance of bonds, other legal obligations, ad valorem taxes, rentals, charges, fees, and other resources of the Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees.
So there you have it. TSC is being asked to turn over all its real estate, buildings, assets, bank deposits, etc., and to continue as a taxing entity with the ability to issue debt. In return, the college has a minority voice (they can advise and discuss) in the final selection of the president (Juliet, we assume), and she will have unbridled authority to hire promote (and fire) whoever she wants.
And you want to know who is on the Board of Regents of the UT System?
How about James E. Dannenbaum, Chairman of Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation? Does the name ring a bell? How about $21 million bells?
With a name like that on the board of Regents, is it any wonder that there is no mention of including the UTB/TSC under the millions generated from oil and gas leases for the Permanent University Fund that is accessible to other UT and A&M Systems schools.
But there will be those altruistic "trustee scholarships" available to district residents instead of in-district tuition. During the last elections, we learned that UTB/TSC was the only community college that did not offer these in-district tuition to all its residents in the district.
But there will be those altruistic "trustee scholarships" available to district residents instead of in-district tuition. During the last elections, we learned that UTB/TSC was the only community college that did not offer these in-district tuition to all its residents in the district.
As a result, local students pay higher tuition and user fees than anyone in the state. Nothing in this new version of the agreement changes that.
12 comments:
If you want to see what is happening to TSC, just follow the money. Now, a parable:
We begin with two marital partners, both of whom have resources and influence. Partner A, in fact, has even more resources than B, and exercises influence in the marriage that B is finding less and less tolerable over time. One fine day Partner B suggests that they create a new legal entity to which they will commit all their resources. It will make for a better marriage, B argues, and will allow for improved regulation and management of resources. Partner B then drafts a legal document outlining what this new entity will do.
But when Partner A looks at the document, it is clear something is seriously amiss. While both partners indeed commit all their resources to the new legal entity, Partner B is given total ownership and managerial control of it: all the money, influence, property, and other resources that used to belong to both marital partners are now controlled by B. When Partner A objects, Partner B screams that she is trying to destroy their marriage.
Partner A, of course is TSC. Partner B is UTB.
Now, if you were Partner A, would you sign this document?
Trey,
If you're reading this, please think carefully before caving to pressures from any side. You and the other new Board members have credibility and massive community support (including many supporters on campus). All that anyone asks is that you take your time and carefully consider all of the implications of this document. Please don't allow anyone to rush you. Claims that it is "my way or the highway" on the part of one faction or another should do nothing except push you away from whatever position is being advocated so peremptorily. Your position is a public trust, please weigh your actions carefully and draw your own conclusions.
Note that while TSC is being sold down the river, the Brownsville Herald continues to provide a never ending series of puff pieces apparently designed to obscure any real discussion of what is happening. Can they really be this dense?
UTB/TSC Board Members please think abut the decision you are doing.
One of the most serious issues raised by the sordid matter of the new UTB/TSC "Operating Agreement" that nobody has yet addressed is the thoroughgoing abandonment of professional ethics and propriety by TSC attorney Daniel Rentfro. Dan has completely lost his moral compass in this case, has jettisoned his legal obligations to his client, and is now well and truly representing UTB rather than TSC. In an ethical world, the TSC attorney would be the one dissecting this horrendous and damaging Operating Agreement and informing the Trustees of its many pitfalls and dangers. Instead, Dan helped draft the document; a document that will, both de jure and de facto, destroy the authority of the TSC Trustees and the autonomy of the TSC District forever. In a rational world Mr. Rentfro should be censured and conceivably disbarred. His professional conduct in this matter has been disgraceful.
A Question To Be Considered:
If the partnership with UTB is so terrible, why has K Rendon and the other new elected members praise it so highly and insist on continuing it?
Its the public and local control that is being "sold down the river" here. Juliet is protecting Juliet and obviously sees her relationship with UT System as more positive than her relationship with the taxpayers here. Her ego demands that she protect her power by cutting the local taxpayers out of the picture and ending the role of elected trustees. Juliet is trying to deny change by surrendering the public interest to her own interts. Its amazing....her narcissism is even greater than Ahumada's. Juliet is so afraid of the public that she looks to sell the public interest off to UT to maintain her own power. Just another sad aspect to living in Brownsville.
Juliet is yet another local official who believes that she is smarter than the public and that citizens should "do as she says" and should have no say in community affairs. She is like other white collar criminals....they think they can control the ignorant public and they are afraid of change; afraid of losing control of their "ponzi". And, the citizens of Brownsville are guilty of promoting her dangerous ego by resting quietly in their own ignorance. Brownsville doesn't want education, it wants day care and seems ignorant of the fact that for years Juliet has pulled the wool over the public eyes. Juliet is a dangerous woman and in the end the publc will lose. Our tax dollars are being used against public interests.
Just a thought. How about the Community allow this to go through subject to payment for the land at current appraised values for downtown land and the 10 mil they owe.
The re-establish a real Community College somewhere more convenient to get to for the Brownsville Residents.
What a pitiful display of gutlessness last night. It is pretty clear that Rendon, Garza, and Torres are doing everything they can to stop the new agreement by slow death and delay but don't have the cajones to simply say so. Mendez looks like a kitten watching a ball being bounced back and forth. Robles showed a flash of gumption, trying to pin down a date at least.
Meanwhile, in Austin they have to be looking at all this and wondering, Do we want to be partners with these yahoos?
Here's a suggestion to the TSC board: Why not get off your dead derrieres and make a decision? What are you so afraid of?
What meeting were you watching? Rendon was brilliant when he articulately stated the Board's commitment to a continued partnership. Yet, countless (and mindless) people came up to plead that the Board not abandon the partnership. You were probably one of the many who was not paying attention, and who did not hear Rendon's opening remarks. Pay attention or crawl back into your hole.
Rene, get on them. You are not alone and if you need us to go support you at the next meeting, do not hesitate to call on us. Use this blog and all the others to ask us because the Herald will not publish it. I don't read El Bravo, but I will if it promises to take over the stories the Herald is afraid to print it. Go Rene! We were Scorpions way back when and once a Scorpion, always a Scorpion. It will and should never die!!!!
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