When Brownsville Independent School Board trustees Luci Longoria, Enrique Escobedo, Christina Saavedra and Catalina Presas-Garcia voted to conduct an forensic audit on how the district spent taxpayers' millions over the last three years, many thought it was just another budget review.
Yet, Superintendent Brett Springston's reluctance to sign off on it should have given us a hint that it wasn't just a run-of-the-mill check of the district's books. It is in fact, a tacit carte blanche to seek out criminal acts, document them, and prosecute them to the full measure of the law if they find cause for it.
The contract calls for the chosen company to
"conduct a complete, thorough and independent forensic accounting, auditing and investigative skills to identify any fraud, waste or abuse, to include any criminal activity(ies) or alleged tort(s), related to Brownsville Independent School District's (BISD's) funding and financial expenditures."Not only will the firm be asked to seek wrongdoing, but also to ferret out potential crimes that "will stand the test of litigation support by either/or both criminal and/or civil proceeding and legal actions."
The board's majority will choose the firm that will "gather, collect, and assemble evidence utilizing acceptable accounting standards and procedures in order to produce and testify to the results in either a criminal or civil litigation setting."
The winning firm will also be required to "issue a prospective summary report setting forth investigative result which may be used in preparing a criminal indictment."
Once done with making prosecutable offenses available to the board, the firm will also be asked to provide a report detailing "proactive risk reduction recommendations for remediation of identified deficiencies in audit designs, practices and performances."
The companies submitting proposals for the forensic audit will also be asked to "evaluate the policies and procedures governing the Standard of Care employed by the BISD, including the present audit process and make recommendations as to remediation of any identified issues."
The company that is eventually selected for the audit will also "act as advisers to the BISD Board of Trustees and any designated finance or audit committees and provide fraud awareness and deterrence training and engagements."
In the Standards and Measure section, the board requires that the company must also be licensed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Private Security Bureau as a management company for both security consultant and private investigator and its investigators must also be licensed and in good standing with the DPS PSB.
Not only must the winning firm have a proven track record, but its staff must also have "worked with and/or within the federal law enforcement system, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in order to recognize any and all federal laws which may have been violated and also have inherent ability to effectively, efficiently, properly and immediately addressed."
The investigators of the award winning company "must have a proven historical track record and display intimate knowledge and experience of forensic accounting standards and both federal and Texas State fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering criminal statutes."
Additionally, the eventual winner will have "investigators and examiners...with a proven historical track record and display intimate knowledge and experience with Texas State laws and civil statutes dealing with civil issues such as, for example, conflict of interest or involving personnel issues and/or allegations implicating misconduct and improprieties on the part of BISD employees."
At least one and preferably most members of the company "must be a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) or Certified Forensic Accountant and at least one of them must have "intimate knowledge and experience with banking rules regulations and bank security operations and procedures."
It's easy to see why Joe Colunga and Rolando Aguilar would not sign on for this close scrutiny of the wheelings and dealings taking place under the past majority and the administration. But observers are scratching their heads at Minerva Peña's "no" vote on the audit.
"With her vaunted DPS background, everyone thought she would be the first to vote to find potential criminal activity involving the taxpayers' money," said a BISD middle management administrator.
"Instead, she said she saw no need for the audit to find out if there was hanky-panky in some construction projects like, say, the $4 million cost overrun at Veterans Memorial High School. The number of change orders benefiting architects and contractors should have been a red flag to her. Yet, she voted no. Why? If there's nothing to hide, why not encourage the audit?"
24 comments:
The TSC trustees should be doing the same thing.
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE THERE'S FIRE!!!!!!
MINERVA PENA IS HIDING SOMETHING.....WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS...TBC
Wow is that specific. I think there are fewer laws in Leviticus.
These audits should be standard procedure. I would even like each trustee audited annually including the immediate family.
Bull S...!
karma sooner or later just like Limas, will Zayas and Cortes pay the piper.
WOW!!!! This audit is an excellent idea. This might just come back and haunt those employees (past and present) who took BISD monies and put it in their own personal account for "Safe Keeping". Come on everyone do it!!!!!!!!! It will just shock Brownsville Voters.......GO BISD.
Does anyone know how much these auditors will cost????????????
Dream on Montoya. This is just Lucy, Cata, and others on an expensive fishing expedition. They have been told repeatedly where the money went but are too stupid to comprehend. You continually write about past board members who lined their pockets with BISD funds but have not one shread of evidence to prove your allegations. Does it make you feel powerful to be an agent of discord? Things were much better when you were locked away!
A commmenter said, Does it make you feel powerful to be an agent of discord? Things were much better when you were locked away! >>>> Hmmm. Better for whom, the person making the comment? Why?
Yeap, investigate former and present board members, Minerva have you paid up your taxes yet?
You have already shocked and disappointed the voters by your actions. Supporting to violate policies and cover up, where are your ethics thought you were a figure of the law. Shame on you!!!!!
The stupid one here is you. Lucy & Caty don't fall for Tony's BS. At the last Budget Meeting the auditor pointed out some discrepencies that didn't add up to what tony was proposing. Who is the stupid one here??
Why would Minerva, Colunga and Aguilar vote against the forensic audit? what are they afraid of, are they protecting themselves or their buddies, zayas, cortez and saldana?
Minerva is worried about how much the audit will cost? why wasn't she worried when she approved to spend 60 million the last two years? I would really like to know why she allowed this. Tony, Brett, Zayas, Cortez, Aguilar, Colunga and Minerva owe us an explanation why and where our 60 million tax dollars were spent on.
WOW!!! It is so obvious that CATA has an ax to grind with MINERVA. CATA you are so bad and have done so many bad things to so many people and you have always covered them up. So now you think everyone is like YOU!!!! You could not be more wrong CATA!!! Keep it up CATA and you will be your own dimise! People with your hatred usually self-destruct!
people why be surprise THESE ASSHOLES ARE ALL DEMOCRATS AND WE KEEP VOTING THEM IN. WHEN WILL WE HAVE THE BALLS TO END THIS CORRUPTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cata is a liar now too. Denying having a secret meeting in December with us about our Cummings Principal. Pure hatred is right, never seen anything like it. I should know, I was there Cata. You are a hateful person and from what we have seen, are only using your board president position to do harm to people you don't like, and causing destruction at schools. What a disappointment you have turned out to be.
ZAYCOR IS STILL SORE BECAUSE THEY LOST,,,,,
Bring on the audit! The ones that are going to look like idiots are the idiots that voted for this very expensive witch hunt instrument. Fortunately for us, this is double edge sword. It's going to bounce back and cut some heads off. Bring it on!
Eric
I can't believe people can be so naive! Springston left because he knew the audit/investigation would prove his wrongdoings! Minerva Pena is a pawn and is too ignorant to see the truth or maybe she was promised something for her vote. Aguilar and Colunga are just as ignorant-don't think they really intend to harm the district, but their blinders need to be removed. The internal investigation done at Cummings also uncovered wrongdoing of a criminal nature for sure or the principal wouldn't have been removed right before TAKS testing. The district is mum about that because Springston was a buddy of the ousted principal-her cousin Zayas and her compadre Cortez voted Brett in. What a web they weave!! It's good enough for a soap opera-"As the stomach turns".
I know for sure that whoever posted the comment about being present at a supposed,"secret meeting" with Cata is lying!! I wouldn't be surprised it's being posted by the ousted principal from Cummings Middle School,her family or the poor stupid pawns she uses to make her out to be a victim. Remember, she's conieving. She uses people for her own personal agenda. When we used to meet to discuss the hostile work environment, we met because we needed to vent amongst ourselves. It was no secret that we got together! Nobody signed a promise or pact not to say what was discussed!At the same time, why would we need to explain to anyone why we get together when we're not at work and who we associate with? Why then would any one of us turn around and try to implicate Cata Presas-Garcia in our problems? I see Cata Presas-Garcia, Rolando Aguilar, Enrique Escobedo, Luci Longoria, plus a host of other BISD administrators a multitude of times! They live in our community; they visit with people from our community; they eat at the same places we eat! Are they not allowed to say hello or visit with their constituents? Get over it! If someone, with an ax to grind because the Cummings principal was removed, wants to make it out to be what it's not I really don't care, but leave Cata be!! She's one of the few people that has what it takes to make sure such shennenigans come to a halt! We will support Cata, Luci, Enrique, Christy & Rolando if we believe they are doing the right thing. Mrs. Presas-Garcia is not a hateful person. She didn't harm our school-the ousted principal divided our campus and ruined a good and close campus. She's the one to blame for anything that went wrong at Cummings not Cata!
The only criminal wrongdoing at Cummings was the board president having secret meetings to oust the principal. Why you ask was our principal not liked? Because she was trying to put a stop to the abusive teachers we have on our campus. Mainly the ISS teacher who bullies and verbally abuses students and teachers. We had teachers leaving campus during the school day when they were supposed to be teaching! For years no principal put a stop to this mess but her. She took all of that on even though she knew the board president was after her because of her cousin. What a reason to dislike someone. The message BISD is giving us, is let abusive teachers continue to harm kids, and remove a prinicipal that was actually DOING HER JOB! But I guess you wouldnt know 2:29. You werent at our campus to see.
Thank you for helping our principal out 3:07 We knew the truth would come out sooner or later about the meeting. As for Catalina.....she's out the next election or sooner at the rate shes going. The truth shall set you free!
You poor miserable suckers at Cummings that believed your ousted principal! She used you for her own agenda! She's still using you!Who said we met with Cata fools? The only people that would meet to vent were people from Cummings! You are also bad-mouthing the ISS teacher that takes the kids YOU can't deal with and works with them! She doesn't bully or verbally abuses anyone! This is the same crap that came out of your precious principal's mouth and where did it get her? She lied about the ISS teacher and now has YOU as her pawn to spread her lies! If the ISS teacher WAS actually doing what you're accusing her of doing, she would've been long gone some time ago at the hands of your precious principal! Since she couldn't get people to lie about the ISS teacher, she resorted to harassing her. That got her nowhere either! Have you ever heard, "Don't shit on the table you eat from."? Think about it! Maybe you're transferring so you don't care what lies you spread about the person that deals with YOUR students that YOU can't handle in the classroom! For everyone's information, that ISS teacher is asked to train other ISS teachers from other campuses because she KNOWS what she's doing and REAL principals realize what a fine job she does!
I agree that the ISS teacher did a hell of a job! The ousted principal should have picked her battles. Cummings was doing way better under Sauceda and Gonzales and she came to ruin it all!!!
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