TSC FUNNELS $$$ TO UNITED BROWNSVILLE, CONSULTANT

By Juan Montoya
What happened to Texas Southmost College trustee Dr. Rey Garcia?
Garcia, who has been adamant about not caving in to the demands by trustees Kiko Rendon and Ed Rivera to keep handing over $25,000 annually to un-elected and unaccountable United Brownsville saying the payments be illegal, was strangely silent at Thursday's meeting.
The board was voting on the 2016 budget and included the $25,000 which had been in contention between certain board members and another $180,000 appropriation to "consultant" Leonardo De la Garza.
De la Garza was brought on board by TSC President Lily Tercero to advice her and the board on the "transition" between the UTB-TSC partnership and on the community college's accreditation as an independent entity.
Almost three years later, there is still no accreditation and de la Garza continues to work as a "consultant" on the transition and accreditation.
Two trustees objected to the United Brownsville and consultant payments. They were Adela Garza, who voted against the budget, and Reymond Hinojosa who abstained from the vote rather than approve the expenditures.
At the core of the United Brownsville dispute is the fact that some trustees objected to the college – as did Cameron County – has funneled public funds to an entity that represents only Brownsville. They contend that other communities in the district – South Padre Island, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, and Rancho Viejo – might have a legal claim to stop the payments since it is not only Brownsville that contributes to its revenues.
They – Garza in particular – also questioned the continued $180,000 payment to de la Garza who was hired on a temporary basis to assist Tercero.
Despite Rendon and Rivera;s defense of the TSC administration and de la Garza's performance, so far, the accrediting body has rejected TSC's application for being incomplete and sent it back once and have not granted it at another occasion for failing to satisfy one of 16 core requirements.
A decision on the TSC application may be forthcoming in December, but Tercero hedged her bets saying it may take longer. De la Garza is Tercero's former boss at Tarrant County colleges.
Trustee Art Rendon, a Brownsville  Independent School District employee – did not attend the meeting.
What surprised  many meeting observers was the fact that Garza did not make a motion to adopt the budget without the $25,000 to United Brownsville or the $180,000 to the consultant and instead allowed the items to be kept in the budget.
Garza told the other trustees that she would not vote to approve the budget because she felt it was an improper use of the community college's assets.