OSCAR CANTU SR., JR., A RECURRING NIGHTMARE?

By Juan Montoya
Having a daughter attending the a Brownsville public elementary school, I was somewhat surprised to hear that a man I had thought was out of public education forever was once again making inroads to affix himself to the district's payroll.
I speak of Oscar Cantu Sr., who at one time was the principal of Hudson Elementary, where my daughter attends. A few years ago, this same Cantu and Oscar Cantu Jr., who still works for the Brownsville Independent School District, were exposed for listing a PhD from a degree mill on their resumes and for "displaying their doctoral titles prominently on BISD websites and in e-mail and hard-copy correspondence."
And even though there was ample evidence that both had violated the BISD employee handbook by filling in false information on their application for employment, no action was taken by the administration and Cantu Sr. was allowed to retire quietly on his BISD pension and Cantu Jr. ended up being made principal of Canales Elementary and now is listed as an interim administrator in the district's Curriculum Dept.
Some sources indicted that Cantu Sr. was now being allowed to read to school children in some of the elementary schools and that concerned me personally that my daughter would be exposed to his persona and his values and principles (or lack thereof).
Both Cantu Sr. and Cantu Jr. are characteristic about everything that is wrong with the BISD.
Both used their political and family ties to entrench themselves in high-paying administrative jobs in the district and could not be removed until the district was shamed into removing them from their respective positions and move them somewhere away from the public eye.
In the case of both Cantu Sr. and Cantu Jr., that came about about three years ago when local education reporter Gary Long wrote an article focusing on their use of the doctoral titles.
In that article, Long documented how both "made frequent and public use of their doctoral titles obtained the Ph.D.s from an online institution whose degrees are illegal in Texas."
Cantu Jr., who retired as special assignment administrator assigned to Brownsville Early College High School, cited a degree in educational administration from Canbourne University obtained in 2005, and, like Cantu Jr., said his degree was legitimate.
Cantu Jr. at first spoke with the Herald about his Canbourne degree, then told Long he would no longer make any statement because he said his "confidential information was being compromised."
The BISD administration then ordered both Cantus to remove the doctoral title from their stationery, E-mails and the BISD website.
However, both men steadfastly denied that they had profited from their fake degrees but did not explain why they had listed them on their resumes.
Both have led charmed existences with the district.
BISD has said that they have no record of Cantu Sr.'s employment history before 2007, although they list his date of hire as 1976. He claimed he received his doctoral degree in 2005. For five years, he enjoyed the prestige and respect afforded a PhD.
Cantu Jr., who was hired at the BISD in 1997, also acquired his PhD in 2005 and he, as well, enjoyed the privilege until their deceit was detected.
After Oscar Sr. left Hudson, he was placed as the administrator of Adult Continuing Education in 2006 through his retirement in 2010, when his fake PhD was made public. In those four years, his salary ballooned from $79,528 (2006), $89,372 (2007), $92,746 (2008), and $94,434 (2009-2010), a nearly $15,000 increase in four short years.
Oscar Jr., however, was not as fortunate. He ran into a slight domestic problem after his inappropriate involvement with a subordinate while he was principal at Juliet Garcia Middle Scholol and had to take a paid leave of absence to deal with the stress.
As principal there in 2006, he was paid $74,566, $77,805 in 2007, $82,713 in 2008, and $84,334 in $2009 when he ran into his, ahem, little problem.
Still, after returning from his leave, in 2010, he was reassigned as principal at Canales Elementary at a decreased $79,119 salary, but his performance left much to be desired and he was moved to the curriculum department  at the same salary in 2011. According to the BISD public information office, he now serves as a specialist in language arts and as interim administrator at a $75,248 salary. Interestingly, this differs from what is reported for his slot in the Texas Tribune, which lists his salary at $120,937.

Name	Agency	Department	Title	Salary
Oscar Cantu Jr	Brownsville ISD	Curriculum & Instruction	SPLST LANG ART	$120,937

Who is right? And can this be right? We will be asking.
How can individuals like these continue to bleed the system, you may ask?
It might help to know that Cantu Jr. is married to the daughter former BISD trustee Graciana de Peña, who even out of office still carries some pull with "Old Brownsville," much like former AD Joe Rodriguez still carries clout with his old proteges on the district's staff.
The idea that Cantu Sr. might go to Hudson where my daughter attends – or to any other school to influence our impressionable children – fills me with dread. It should also concern other parents whose children attend schools in the BISD.