LAST-MINUTE JOCKEYING FOR BISD BOARD MONDAY; AT STAKE, $$$ MILLIONS IN CONTRACTS, JOBS, PROMOTIONS

By Juan Montoya
Will he/she or won't he/she run?
And if he/she does, what place will he/she run for?
With three positions open for this November's election in the Brownsville Independent School District, the only thing we know for sure is that as of Friday, Cesar Lopez was running for Place 1 as is Rolando Guerra.
Only Carlos Elizondo has filed to run in Place 2, and Joe Rodriguez has filed to run against incumbent Lucy Longoria in Place 4.
Elizondo is running for the position on the board left vacant with the death of Enrique Escobedo. Lopez was appointed by the board – when Escobedo was president – to replace Dr. Christina Saavedra who left for an academic administrative position in San Antonio. Before that Lopez, a Brownsville resident, was – and still is – the purchasing agent for the Mercedes Independent School District.
But what position the candidates run for may be subject to change as the 5 p.m. Monday, August 18 deadline to file approaches.
Then, as the different factions backing the candidates and incumbents watch who their potential opponents may be, the places they run may well change and new unheralded candidates come out of the woodwork like cockroaches and file at the last minute.
Elizondo, president of the local firefighters, is today the only declared candidate to fill Escobedo's position, but he says he's heard talk that someone else may be convinced to run against him.
"I've heard that they were going to get someone to run against me," he said Saturday. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did."
Coffee shop talk also centers on the Place 1 race between Lopez and Guerra. Rumors are that a woman will file for the position on Monday. That potential candidate has been identified tentatively as Shirley Bowman, a longtime BISD teacher and coach. The icnlusion of a woman in the race could alter the odds facing the other two candidates.
That, of course, is subject to change. For months there has been chatter on the social media that Mary Rey would be running against Longoria after the two had a falling out over the role of the defeatzayascortezpowers PAC when Longoria beat Rick Zayas for the position. Rey has claimed that she was used by the PAC to further the chances of their candidates and that she was misled in their intentions. She went so far as to voluntarily sit for a deposition before defeat candidate Zayas that was later aired on social media filled with allegations seeking to prove there were unspecified criminal acts committed. Nothing ever came out of that effort.
Will she file on Monday?
That would seem doubtful since Rodriguez – a former BISD trustee and athletic director – is the candidate being backed by Zayas and the old-town power elite. However, if she does file for the position, that would maker her a "spoiler" against Longoria – and obvious ploy to split the women's vote in that race.
Now the question becomes, why on earth would anyone in their right mind run for an unpaid – and largely thankless – position on the BISD board? The BISD's annual budget exceeds $500 million, that's right half a billion. That can buy a lot of candy.
Patronage is the most obvious benefit of electing a school board member in a district this size.
The BISD is the largest employer in Cameron County, with the Brownsville Economic Development Council listing its 7,708 employees as the largest workforce of any single employer.
By comparison, Keppel Amfels, the oil platform builder, only employs an estimated 1,400, followed by the City of Brownsville with 1,200. Not only can a trustee push for someone to get a job – which they won't admit, but they do – but board members can also influence the career of BISD teachers and administrators as they seek to move up the pecking order in the district.
The other big reason is the board's control of the awarding of service contracts for its employers, staff, and the 58 campus in the district. Contracts for everything from health insurance, athletic equipment, legal services, pencils and paper, you name it, are awarded yearly. So if you have a lock on a majority on the board, chances are that you'll get the nod.
One of the most sought after contracts is the health insurance for the district. Estimates are that this plum is worth an easy $40 million to whichever company gets the contract. The late Johnny Cavazos used to have a lock on this contract, making millions each year when the board members he had cultivated dutifully cast their votes for whichever company he was an agent.
Today, with his passing, there are others who are salivating to grab that plum. One of those making a move is one Joey Salazar, who seems to have an edge with Assurance to take over for Blue Cross-Blue Shield. Even as the board is deliberating on the provider, BISD board counsel Baltazar Salazar was reported to be dining with an agent of that vendor at the local Tony Roma restaurant franchise.
And we even heard that Employee Benefits-Risk Administrator Judy Cuellar – in charge of making the recommendations for the insurance carrier for the district – had grown so stressed over the different factions pressuring this way and the other for their companies, that she called in sick for a workshop where the issue would be discussed.
"We heard that the superintendent (Carl Montoya) had asked her to go see Otis at his office (BID board president Powers)," said a high-placed BISD administrator.
Powers, the scuttlebutt goes, is pushing hard for he contract to go to Assurance, Salazar's company.
Suspicions that political influence may be tainting the process for awarding this lucrative contract are being fueled even more because for the first time the district has not employed an insurance consultant to make a recommendation but has chosen to let the board decide based on the recommendation of its employees, a process that is inherently open to be influenced by self-interest and politics.
Ditto for lawsuits against the BISD. If you sue the district and you can get a majority on the board to setle with you, it could mean millions in your pocket. It all depends on the makeup of the board.
But isn't this about the education of our children?, someone may ask.
Well, yes, it used to be. But when you control millions with your vote, it appears that the interest of children, teachers, and the taxpayer are pushed to the seats at the back of the room.