BISD LAWYER GETS EXTENSION PRIOR TO NOV. ELECTION

By Juan Montoya
The agenda for today's meeting has an item placed there by a board member although it does not identify him (or her by name) on an item (43) about discussion and possible action regarding the contract of the board attorney (Baltazar Salazar.)
We pried a bit and found out that the board member was none other than Cesar Lopez.
And we understand that Lopez wants to give Salazar a contract extension past the upcoming November elections. Now, this is very generous of Lopez and we wondered at the mutual affection between Lopez and Salazar.
Then someone pointed out that Salazar had supported Lopez financially during his campaign even though there is a clause in the lawyer's contract that would seem o prohibit him making any monetary donations to board members.
On November 2014, the board majority – including Lopez – extended Salazar's contract and his $240,000 annual salary was increased by 10 percent to $264,000. He was also elevated from board counsel to General Counsel.

 The Gifts to Public Servants Clause in Salazar's contract reads:
"General Counsel warrants that he has not given, nor does he intend to give, at any time hereafter, any economic opportunity, future employment, gift, loan, gratuity, special discounts, trips, favors, or service to a public servant in connection with the award of this agreement."
Yet, on the 30-Days Before Election Report filed by Cesar Lopez, he reported that Salazar gave:
*$2,500 to Lopez June 23
*and another $1,500 to Lopez again on July 18
*He gave nothing to the Luci Longoria campaign
According to Salazar, his $4,000 in cash donations to Lopez is not in any way connected to that public servant's aye vote for his contract or his raise.
“The reason ‘in connection with’ is so important because if you read the whole paragraph, the idea is that if somebody were to give a campaign contribution in exchange for a contract or exchange for an extension then that would be illegal," Salazar told News Central (Channel 4).
Salzar's performance at the helm of BISD's legal department has been anything but stellar.
Legal observers in the courts say that the lawyers for the 28 women in the equal pay for equal work lawsuit (gender discrimination) ran circles around him because he is not versed on the intricacies of education law.
"He didn't now what he was doing," one said.
As a result, the district had to pay the 28 women varying sums to settle the issue.
And his lackadaisical performance for the district is a dismal one.
Roll the tape to April 1, 2013, appropriately, April Fools' Day, when Salazar was first hired at BISD.
Salazar was making his pitch to be hired by the district from among six other firms that had made the cut.
When Salazar came to the podium to make his presentation, he stressed the fact that he was a straight shooter who would "stab you in the front" in contrast to others who would stab you in the back.
He looked at trustee Minerva Peña and said pointedly: "I've known some of you since I was a kid," and said his goal was "not to make money."
He promised he would "tone down your legal expenses" and bring "stability, because you have chaos, and when there's chaos, lawyers make money."
The school district, he told them, had "become a cash cow" because the district did not follow procedure and said he was there "to serve the board as a whole."
In answer to a query by trustee Lucy Longoria, Salazar said that all board members had the right to speak out and that he believed in open arguments.
"You do have the right to speak out," he replied to her question. "I believe you have to have high moral values and high moral standards."
How things have changed.
He farmed out the Healthsmart lawsuit to a McAllen firm which some board members claimed would get the district $14 million. In fact, he had already sent them confidential information on the lawsuit before he got board approval to hire them.
Say goodbye to the $14 million and hello to maybe $1 million which the board will likely have to split with the lawyers. The other half of the settlement is contingent on Healthsmart not declaring bankruptcy. If they do, the district has to stand in line to get pennies on the dollar on the lawsuit.
Or how about the settlement of the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by Terry Spellane et al (and this is very important) that was approved by the board in their August meeting? It is noteworthy that the board was also blind sided with the lawsuit that included 28 plaintiffs, all women claiming that the district had bypassed them and paid them less because of their sex.
In fact, the et al in the lawsuit refers to the 28 individuals not named on the board item. A cursory read of the agenda would never heave revealed their inclusion in the agenda. It's called sleight-of-hand and Salazar is a master at it. Now you see it, now you don't.
The trustees were astounded to hear that the lawsuit had been in the works for at least a year before they ever heard about it when the women's lawyer addressed them in open session.
That cost the BISD another $750,000 ranging from payments as low as $15,000 ranging to $23,000. Of course, the lawyers will take their cut first.
So here comes Lopez rewarding this mediocre performance and moving to give him yet another extension.
Some people live a charmed existence, dont they?