Tercero protests that she was not provided with due process in her termination hearing, that she was not fired for good cause, that she wants the board to pay her for three years that the former board of directors extended her contract until May 1, 2019 ($228,228 x 3= $684,684), and that they de made to pay damages and attorneys fees.
She, of course, makes no mention of the fact that under her watch the TSC nursing program is, for all practical purposes, DOA, that she unilaterally extended the windstorm and hail property insurance contract without going out for proposals and without board approval, and that she was using the signature stamp of trustees no longer on the board to make payments to vendors and individuals that amounted to more than $1.5 million.
Her attorney (as lawyers are wont to do) blames individual trustees – Adela Garza, Trey Mendez, Ruben Herrera, Ramon Hinojosa and Dr. Tony Zavaleta – for her alleged wrongful termination and give a get-out-of-jail ticket to trustee Dr. Rey Garcia and Art Rendon. Both of these gents voted not to terminate Tercero. Additionally, Rendon is said to have been pushing for the windstorm insurance carrier to be picked before the company sued for a Temporary Restraining Order to keep the trustees from considering the proposals from other carriers.
Besides the general allegations by her attorneys that the individual board members were picking on her, that she was being asked for too much information, and that she was being asked to do things that hadn't been approved by a majority of the board, they also charge the defendants with breach of contract.
But it is the exhibits attached to the lawsuit that have caught the eye of legal observers. Her attorney Richard A, Illmer, of Dallas, included a glowing letter of support from former trustee Ed Rivera where he describes her performance as "stellar" and says her extension of the windstorm insurance contract was a "matter of urgency" and that he did not find her actions as "surreptitious in any way."This is from Rivera, the trustee who jumped ship and ran for commissioner of the Port of Brownsville and used his girlfriend's Brownsville address instead of his in Laguna Vista because he lived outside the TSC district.
Tercero used Rivera's rubber-stamped signature even after he was replaced on the board June 27 by Dr. Tony Zavaleta. Her use of the bogus rubber-stamped signatures continued until late July and early August. It wasn't until August 5 or 6 that chairperson Adela Garza's countersignature stamp was used on checks Tercero approved. This was despite the fact that the administration had her signature stamp on file from her serving as a board officer on a previous term
Tercero also used the signature rubber stamp of former TSC chairman Kiko Rendon way after he was replaced by local attorney Ruben Herrera on May 18.
In all, Tercero paid out some $1.5 million in checks from TSC to individuals and vendors using the obsolete rubber-stamp signatures. And when new trustee Herrera wanted to personally sign checks paid by TSC over $10,000, Tercero considered his request illegal since no board action had been taken directing her to do it.
But it is the letter to Adela Garza by Dr. Rey Garcia that elicited the most attention. His style of
writing – besides being melodramatic – borders on the maudlin. In one sentence he calls chair Garza's style "despotic and tyrannical" that he charges she is "counter-productive to student success."Garcia also contends that the continuing requests from Garza and other members for information from Tercero created "distractions" that "I am sure contributed to our missing the deadline for windstorm insurance."
He close with "May God help you! Blessings, RG."
Local attorneys who have practicves in the local federal court say it is highly irregular for these type of exhibits to be attached to complaints and motions before the federal bench. But even more serious, they say that Rivera and Garcia, in effect, have joined the side of Tercero and the attorneys who have sued TSC for damages.
And in our pursuit of a copy of a letter Garcia is said to have written against Garza and her fellow trustees to TSC's accrediting agency, we have been told by TSC that they do not have any such correspondence.
Good morning, Mr. Montoya.
Per your Public Information Act request on Oct. 24, 2016, Texas Southmost College (TSC) does not have any documents regarding any communication between TSC Board of Trustee Dr. Reynaldo García and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
TSC was also unable to obtain any documents regarding your request from Dr. García or SACSCOC.
Edgar Chrnko Salas
Director of Marketing & Community Relations
We know that there is such a letter and that Garcia wrote SAC to complain about the actions of his fellow trustees on the TSC board. Why the accrediting agency? What do they do? Oh, yeah, they can give or withdraw accreditation.
Not to worry, we will eventually get a copy of the letter that trustee Garcia does not want anyone to see. With friends like Rivera and Garcia, why does TSC need enemies?
25 comments:
So what else is new? This lawsuit was expected. She will settle for less than what she would have been paid and life will go on. Just another box to check.
MONTOYA, you are a bad citizen, my friend. Like your fiend McHale, your day is coming too.
I am no lawyer but damn that is one ass backwards lawsuit. Not only puts Tercero as a "victim" when there is plenty of evidence of the contrary but it includes letters of support of a disgraced board member and one that should be put down like an animal for biting the hand that feeds him.
It will be fun to see what Dr. Garcia, Ed Rivera and Kiko Rendon say when they are grilled in depositions. Can't wait
"The Pissed Off Conservative" your pissing off the pot, pendejo!
Why would TSC have a copy of a letter Dr. Garcia wrote?....
Garcia and A. Rendon are simply trying to protect TSC from a rogue board majority trying to enrich themselves with questionable behavior and don't care about the students.
Don't pay her shit!! not with my tax dollars
Explain "the hand that feeds him". TSC does not pay trustees. It is done as a free service to the community. It only gets rewarded with insults from low lives like you. How have you served your community beside your anonymous lip service. Get a life you maggot.
Again, education takes a back seat to political squabbling. Its time to stop this bullshit.....too many tax dollars are paid out to lawyers to continue this silly game of "educational litigation". It is awful and there should be a way to protect the tax payers from this trivial litigation.
Shame on you Dr. Garcia
Your loyalty should be with TSC not with Tercero
Please give us a break...
Garcia has ten years of school board experience and is smart enough not to walk into obvious litigation issues. This one was a no brainer for Garcia and Rendon. Let the blind lead the blind. Ignorance is bliss!!!
Montoya , you seem to get offended by the word "God "and "blessings." Incredible!
It is amazing how obsessed Montoya is with Dr. Rey Garcia. Wow! What gives Juanito?
Hahahahaha. Trying to protect the college.
What about Art Rendon ?
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
— Voltaire, 1767
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
— Confucius
I can't wait for the depositions. Especially when Adela Garza is asked where Washington DSC is. As the Chairman of a community college maybe this time she will tell us. She is an idiot.
It's actually quite simple folks. Whether you like or agree with Juan Montoya or not, is not the issue. He seems to be doing something right with all his readership.
View the TSC video tapes of the board meetings. They are online on the TSC website.
You'll quickly come to the conclusion that this TSC board majority is quickly messing things up because of some illusion that it's more important to appear important.
Ruben is about the dumbest guy I've ever seen utter a word. I wonder how he managed to get a lawyer's degree. Trey doesn't seem to want to make a decision. Tony is waiting for someone to make one and Adela, well lets just say Adela is not the sharpest Chairperson (that was a nice way of saying she's pretty dumb). Garcia reminds me of Wallace in Braveheart and Art is probably the only guy that actually thinks before he speaks. Can't comment on Hinojosa cause he hasn't said anything in five months.
After reviewing six months of videos, I can honestly say that Tercero's dismissal was an ego trip manifested in ignorance. There is no question that the board violated just about every protocol during open session. I can hardly wait for the trial when things get exposed. Really exposed. I hope so because then we will find out if Tercero really did screw up or not. It's sad though because this idiocy reflects on the college, the board, its Chairperson and will ultimately affect the students. The board does not seem to be able to put the student's interests first.
I like the truth. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it course corrects, but always it tells you how things really are.
Thanks El Rrun Rrun for reporting what the Herald does not.
Ah the imbeciles don't understand the term. I guess it was too much to expect from idiots like you.
Garcia is an elected by the people to serve his community and he is betraying the trust that he is given by them, I am not talking about a monetary compensation. The letter that he wrote was an personal letter of support and since he is an electdd official he is still a public servant.
Is that too much information for that tiny little mind to understand?
I understand Adela and Dr A are really close and that the reason Adela wanted Dr. Tercero out is because she is making room for Dr. A to take over as president. Sylvia would be smart to take her up on it and get the hell out of BISD who doesn't need or want her. She is only there to cause trouble and get even for being fired from BISD for stupidities she did when Carl Montoya was here. Now Juan, someone bet me you would not print this because Sylvia pays you to keep her name out of the blog. Verdad o no?
Sylvia A. Does not belong in education at any level. She is arrogant and can't keep a job. Shame on those who voted for her instead of Rigo. She is going in to BISD with an hatchet. Evil.
Written by the Harvard graduate himself. Yes the one that lied about living in Brownsville to run for the port. What a loser!!!!!
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