BISD FIREWORKS: IS ZENDEJAS GETTING WALKING PAPERS?

By Juan Montoya
There is always an item on the agendas of the meetings of the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees on "the appointment, employment, evaluation and duties of the district superintendent."
Tonight's meeting is no different, with a minor exception.

El Rrun-Rrun has learned that a gelling majority of the board is considering handing Esperanza Zendejas her walking papers for a variety of reasons.
Among those has been the expenditure of millions of dollars for a everything from artificial turf for three high schools, more than $1.5 million in computer tablets, and the recent scandal involving the ordering of 40 high-end championship rings costing $31,000 without going through the district's procurement process.

There is also the matter of the termination of the district's armored car service after it was discovered that a company employee had pocketed $495 since last September and the loss was only detected last month by the BISD's eagle-eyed auditing process.
In contrast to Cameron County's Adult Probation Dept. which detected a similar loss in just a week after it occurred, the BISD took six full months to notice that the funds were missing.

BISD reported that it caught the theft of $495 from missing receipts that had been picked up last September. When it notified the company's owners, they learned that the guilty party – a "messenger" assigned to pick up sealed deposit bags from the company's armored-car clients – had already been charged by the management with local police for another heist from another of their clients. The company quickly made the district whole when they learned of the missing money. By the time BISD caught on, the man had already been fired and charged. Still, the administration went ahead and cancelled the armored car company's contract.

In tonight's agenda, there is an item on the agenda placed there by member SPA, Dr. Sylvia Perez Atkinson that reads:
55. Discussion, consideration and possible action to authorize the Board Attorney to contract a school law attorney to investigate the procurement procedures in the district as they relate to pending issues; i.e. tablets and rings. (Board Member Request – SPA)

In the case of the tablets, according Zendejas' recommendation to the board, is "to support and encourage reading opportunities."
We also know that along with the tablet will be included a keyboard and that the tablet will be loaded with software to provide one year of Internet access to every fifth-grade student and their teachers and will "make the tools of modern technology available to the students."
We also know that the $1.5 million price tag was based on the Texas Association of School Boards BuyBoard Contract #498-15 for Technology Equipment, Supplies, Software, Telecommunications Products, Asset Disposal/Recovery.

There are 142 such companies who can provide the BISD with such services listed on the BuyBoard and that 44 of them are denoted as women and minority vendors.
On of those belongs to Ben Guerrero, the pretty boy associated with Fred Loya Insurance who appears with former boxer "Golden Boy" Oscar de la Hoya in the commercials. In his sales website, he pushes for the tablets he sells thus:
"TabletTech is the Sole Distributor of the UbiSlate Tablets for the K12 Sector in the US. Our Tablets come with 4G connectivity , Google Certified, Android OS and One (1) Year FREE Basic Internet for Every Student! At a Price Everyone can AFFORD!"
The specs put forward by the BISD mirrored the qualities crowed up by Guerrero's company almost to a "T."

The issue of the rings has been festering since an investigation by the BISD auditors found that the rings for the students had been ordered by an unknowns party within the district, that each student ring cost $895, and that among the 40 rings delivered, two were free, one for trustee Joe Rodriguez and another for Zendejas valued at $995. In all, 11 non-players got rings. Once the invoice landed at Porter, Zendejas made the non-players (coaches and teachers and principal Hector Hernandez) pay out of their own pockets for them. But there was no effort made to find out and sanction the individual who ordered the rings, violated the BISD procurement rules, and placed the players' amateur status in jeopardy. Why not?

In the case of Paragon Sports, they were the sole vendor chosen to install artificial turf in three of the district's high schools (Lopez, Porter and Rivera) and have so far pocketed more than $2.5 million. Their contract was awarded without the benefits of bidding through an item on the consent agenda. Even then, the company's representatives were allowed – at trustee Rodriguez's invitation – to show the board their product, a move that raised red flags among those attending.
"If it was on the consent agenda to be passed without discussion, why did Rodriguez invite them to speak before the board and push their product?," a former BISD board member asked at the time.

It is almost certain that the three women on the board, Atkinson, Minerva Peña, and Laura Perez-Reyes, will vote to hand Zendejas her walking papers. Zendejas has averaged about 20 months in her precious stints as superintendent in other school districts. She is now in her 22nd here. Is it time?

At least one city resident, Ana Hernandez Oquin, a past candidate for the board who has questioned the purchase of the rings, is said to be considering filing a complaint against her with the Texas Attorney General.

It is almost as certain that Zendejas will continue to be supported by Rodriguez, Carlos Elizondo and Phil Cowen. Straddling the fence is board president Cesar Lopez. Whose side will his swing vote favor?