BISD, DRUE BROWN: YOUR TIME IS UP. DELIVER.

By Juan Montoya
On March 2, the Brownsville Independent School District received a follow-up on a public information request related to the $25 million construction bond snafu from Accion America's Carlos Quintanilla.
In his note, Quintanilla lets BISD information officer Drue Brown that he knows that checks and emails related to the issue have not been delivered even though he knows of their existence.
In that issue, the district - counting on the approval of grants from the state - bid contracts and awarded them and even cut checks from its reserve funds only to find out the monies the administration and financial advisers assumed would be forthcoming did not.
Accion America suspects that communications between the consultants, superintendent Brett Springston, state officials and former board members Rick Zayas and Ruben Cortez may shed light on the boondoggle.
In his letter, Quintanilla says:




Ms. Brown:
I submitted a request for documents on January 31, and received a total of 16 checks. An additional 9 checks were not included in the summary that you provided me.
Also, I have requested any and all copies of any wire transfers that were made relating to the Construction Bond Program and any and all copies of Real Estate Contracts and or agreements relating to the December 7, Construction Bond Program.
I have yet to receive the more than 200 emails that have also been requested and have been disclosed that they exist.
Please advise when you will comply with this request, the 10 day limit allowed by law has passed.
Respectfully,
Carlos Quintanilla



True to form, the BISD has requested a Texas Attorney General's opinion on whether the public should have access to the documents as it did when they were reluctant to make two audits done on the annual fundraisers by former Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez.
If the AG rules the communications on the bond issue of $25 million in public funds is open to the people, will the BISD repeat its performance and sue the Attorney General?
And if everything was on the up and up, what have they got to hide?
It is now becoming obvious that it is critical to the issue on what the administration knew about the problems with the issue and when they knew it. During Watergate, when it became clear that Richard Nixon knew about the break-in at the Watergate complex, he resigned rather than get the ax from an impeachment committee.
Will Springston also hang slowly in the wind?
As a result of the unfulfilled expectations, it will cost the district $11,862,373 over the next 18 years for repayment of the bonds instead of geting the "free money" Springston and financial advisor Noe Hinojosa had promised.
The duo blamed the Texas Education agency for changing its rules after the monies had been spent by the district and contracts awarded to local architects and contractors.