Let's see if we can cut to the chase on the questions surrounding the refusal by a majority on the board of the Brownsville Independent School District to vote and approve the purchase of school buses.
On March 21, the Director of Transportation Art Rendon wrote the administration that the best deal for the district was to purchase the 60 buses from Thomas Bus Co. Then, during the May 5 meeting, Rendon's recommendations were supported by CEO Ismael Garcia, Asst. Superintendent Tony Juarez and Program Administrator Rosario Peña.
Their reasons were these:
1. The the $5.227 million to purchase the 42 regular buses and 18 Special Need-equipped buses were already budgeted.
2. Thomas Bus offered the best interest rate of the three companies who bid: (between 1.525 and 1.882).
3. International Controls had a rate varying between 1.89 and 1.99 percent. Blue Bird had an interest rate of 2.45 percent.
4. The cost of interest for the installment purchase shows that Thomas would charge about $200,000 over five years, International about $253,000, and Blue Bird about $320,000.5. Not voting to purchase the buses means that the district will continue to pay needlessly to maintain an aging fleet of at least 60 buses that were to be replaced.
6. The time lag between ordering and delivering new buses is between four to five months, thereby delaying their availability for the new school year three months from now.
7. Having students ride these buses means that they will be exposed to potential safety hazards and breakdowns the coming school year.
8. Trustees Hector Chirinos, Minerva Peña, Enrique Escobedo and Christina Saavedra instead decided to ignore the recommendation. Chirinos and the supporters of the International Controls Co.'s vendors at Region One (where Ruben Cortez went after BISD) were backing the second, more expensive choice.
9. Lucy Longoria, Otis Powers, and Catalina Presas-Garcia voted to follow the committee's recommendations.
10. Chirinos used to be the head of the Transportation Dept. where at least two audits found that he blamed the administration and the bus drivers union for running up millions (at least $2.3 million) in overtime while he was there.
11. Chirinos also was found by an audit to have ordered $100,000s in redundant bus repair parts which were held in inventory and which eventually became obsolete and resulted in waste.
12. BISD chairman Enrique Escobedo appointed Chirinos to head the district's budget committee for the 2013-2014 school year.
14 comments:
Seems like the dissenting BISD Trustees didn't get their palms greased enough....or simply retaliation against Rendon. So children's saftey takes the back seat again while the BISD Trustees play politics with our money and our kids.
So what, Juan?
Cherino is waiting a bigger fuller trough. Pincche matranano.
It's a shame that someone who truly cares about doing the right thing for the district and looks to run an operation as a business and be a custodian of and properly manage public money in Mr. Rendon, the type of person we need in all levels of govt has to deal with these SLUGS on the school board who could give a flip about anyone other than their own interests and most certainly not any of our kids or the public trust and most likely pay a personal price for trying to do the right thing. We wonder why the valley and Brownsville has the reputation of being so corrupt and mismanaged!
somebody has to stop scumbag Cata
Chirinos is a disgrace along with Minerva Pena and Otis Powers. Abusively spent our hard earned tax dollars wastefully and Minetva supports him, otis involved in conspiring in firing Hector Gonzalez and Tony Juarez and idiot Minerva supports him. What a joke!
Yet people were stupid to voye for these losers, or definitely there was voter fraud.
Well ...
Is this really a safety issue? Have breaks failed, steering wheels come unattached, tires fallen off, children and drivers overcome by exhaust fumes? There may be urgent needs to replace buses but is current or near term safety one of them?
Even if safety wasn't relevant, the buses need to be replaced. The district budgeted for it and they got a great deal from a company willing to take 53K in interest LESS than the option Chirinos wants. You'd have to be either a complete moron to go with the more expensive option or have some sort of agenda. There are teachers in my family who work for BISD. I'm sending them a link to this today.
In my opinion as a tax payer I don't think is fair that we have to pay for the consequences I did a research of all 3 brands of buses and what the administration is going to save on interest they will pay it back on the extra additive fluid that the pick up truck use (exhaust fluid),calculating on 10 yrs period that is going to cost us over $300,000.00. are they stupid or what??????
Joaquin, you are an idiot.
"Mr. Rendon, the type of person we need in all levels of govt has to deal with these SLUGS on the school board"
To comment above; yeah Right!
Mr. Rendon has bigger problems. He is the silent partner in Pat Ahumada's business deals. He fronted the money for Pat's "maquinitas". Rendon invested his lawsuit wins into the slot machines in Brownsville. Guess he believed it was a better return then putting his money in the banks. LOL!
If I were as dumb as you I wouldn't want to address facts or logic either. Stick to ad hominem...
"UPDATE ON BLOGGERS COMMENTS" Actually International supplied Brownsville ISD with the lowest cost on the purchase of 60 units and the interest rate was 1.40% thus offering the District significant savings.
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