On a night when the voters of Alabama said no to a lust-driven candidate for the U.S. Senate, a majority of the Brownsville Independent School District also rejected money-lusty trustee Joe Rodriguez's advances on $1.4 million for a "state-of-the-art" scoreboard for Sams Stadium and a move to name discredited trustee Carlos Elizondo president of the board.
Rodriguez has attempted for over a year to get a majority of the board to make the outlay for the scoreboard, but as several trustees pointed out – including his longtime ally on the Facilities Committee Phil Cowen – the sudden hike in the price of the board from $600,000 to $1.4 million had not been vetted by the committee or the board.
Rodriguez first tried to get the board to put out a little over $600,000 to update the scoreboard a few months ago, but since the board voted to increase property taxes by 11 cents, it made $120 million more available to spend through bond issues over the next five years, $15 million of which have been set aside for improvements for Sams Stadium.
As trustee Minerva Peña commented on the unexpected increase of the agenda item, Rodriguez taunted her by waving a sheet of paper as she spoke.
Even Cowen said that the $800,000 increase from the original price was a bit too much even for him to accept, telling Rodriguez the board could bring the item back in January even though that was not part of the motion before the board. Board president Cesar Lopez, facing reelection, also favored further study.
And he let it out of the bag that the vendor, who he did not identify, had contacted him and they had spoken at length about perhaps combining the new board with a refurbishing of the old board to be placed in the field at Veterans Memorial High School. If so, said a former board member, this would constitute a violation of BISD procurement rules for vendor prohibiting them from lobbying individual board members.
"Well, this guy asked me, I don't remember his name, what it would take to (get the vote)," Cowen disclosed.
(In a previous facilities committee meeting, Rodriguez told Peña that superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas had already been in "negotiations" with the vendor of the scoreboards, insinuating that it was a done deal.)
Dr. Sylvia Atkinson made the motion to table and Peña seconded before Rodriguez or his fellows on the board could make a motion to approve.
As Rodriguez complained that the item had been before the facilities committee and the board previously, he saw support for his item disappear before the arguments that a $800,000 increase in the amount of the item without being vetted was not acceptable to the majority.
"One point four million is a lot of money," Atkinson said. "I'll help you spend the $15 million Coach, but I'd rather spend the money on our pre-k program..."
When the vote to table the item was taken after discussion, only Rodriguez and Carlos Elizondo voted against it.
Just minutes after emerging from executive session, Rodriguez apologized to Lopez for what he said was his actions "attacking the referee" during a game.
"Don't worry coach, I'm used to be attacked as a referee...," Lopez trailed off.
The item on the agenda placed by Cowen which would have restructured the board and reportedly made Elizondo – under indictment for theft – president of the board beginning in January, was tabled indefinitely after Atkinson made the motion and Peña seconded it.
By using the word "indefinitely," it means that the item cannot be brought back.
17 comments:
spend the money on the children. How many Athletes are we producing that become professional? use the money in the Fine Arts program. Dr. Rendon's program is producing professional dancers who continue after high school preforming with the Fred Astaire school. Assist with providing more to our Special Education Students. the District down sized a department that is a self funding department. Medicaid Funding is being used in everything but Special Ed. Not to mention the district obsoleted all Hall Monitors yet they want to spend 1.4 million on a Score Board. Priorities are not in line. We need to vote to get Joe Rod, Carlos Elizondo, and Cesar Lopez out. Way to go Dr. Atkinson for wanting to spend the funds on our children.
That's it for the carlos, cindy, and Marylou Huerta Elizondo regime. These rata family is done in Brownsville, zip, zilch, nada and finito. You poor pathetic, arrogant wannabe and poor excuse for human beings family, shame shame shame on you all weirdos.
BISD is full of morons. Charter schools kicking your ass every way.
La Blimp did not make it? LOL
Cowen, Coach Joe and Elizondo are strange bedfellows, but each is arrogant and greedy in his own way. Elizondo is a well known "DICK" and it seems that Coach Joe and Cowen seek to help him, if he helps them. Political trade off...good for them as they think about themselves, not about the students and academics.
Seems like Zendejas (The BISD version of Queen Julieta Garcia) is taking a low profile (I was going to say "laying low", but we here when she lays its always low) as these members embarrass themselves publicly. But, its almost Christmas, few attend BISD meetings, The Herald will not publish negative info on one of their key advertisers and most citizens don't give a shit.
Instead of Joe Sixpack, this guy is Joe Kickback!
I resent the fact that some idiot puts BISD down and elevates the Charter Schools. Where were you educated? Where are your children? If they are in charter school, it is parents like you that make decisions that will come back and haunt you just because you did not get it your way something. I agree that too much money is being spent on athletic and always been a thorn on the side of many people, for the argument that athletics brings in much money is not correct. That happens when you have winning teams and before this year we had none as a whole athletic program. Spend more money on technology to prepare our students for the future for I am sure we will not get too many professional millionaire football players coming out of here. The person who wrote that not too many attend board meetings is probably one that does not and that is why there are so many employees who know nothing of what is going on in the district except that they get their pay checks on the 25th.
I say that the board should wait to name the new president and tabling it was the best thing that could have happened. That way Elizondo will have his day in court and clear his name or muddy it more and then the decision could be made. It is bad enough that another one of our illustrious board members is under fire so let's give it some time and make sure that our
president has to resign if found guilty - que vuerguenza. Look at what happened with
Yzaguirre! He came out clean as a whistle, so maybe the same will happen to Carlos. If
Cesar would learn to act on his own leadership skills and not those dictated by Atkinson, he would do OK - he needs to put on his pantalones and tell those Viejas que se callen el osico!
Both Minerva and Sylvia and now Cowen, think only they are right and its their way or the highway. Cesar finally showed some cojones last night when he got after the Union officials who do nothing but complain with many false statements.
If it is table indefinitely, it means it can not be brought back again? Good - that way Sylvia Atkinson would not get what she wants to be- la president! I doubt that it means it
can not be brought back again. Unless, they will they decide to re-elect Cesar Lopez since Sylvia seems to control what he says or does not say and yields to her so many times. Cesar needs to learn to take the reigns by himself and not listen to the 2 pericas y el sonso de
Cowen. He needs to shut them up during the meeting that they keep interrupting the meeting not following Robert's Rules of Order. Cowen is so far gone with his memories from when he
used to first serve on the board and rattles on and on about what he did then. He has copied
Minerva with her quote of when I used to work for the state. I really did like and according to the response from the public audience, everyone did too, what Laura Perez Reyes commented on at the meeting. She is so correct that some employees just want things that fit their needs and to hell with the others or even the children. Way to go Laura
and don't let the two pericas tell you what to do.
We have professional dancers at stilletos that make more than our teachers!
Good grief, its about time (decades) that they put a stop to joe blow rodriguez hahaha
Hey Carlos, your buddies in crime Jaret sheldon and cesar pedraza act like your friends in your presence but are stabbing you in the back with the authorities. Lol.
The correct motion should have been "postpone indefinitely", and yes, it CAN BE BROUGHT back at any time.
Did you not hear Sylvia tell Coach Joe that they would pass it but they needed more
time to "vet" the situation. They know it is good to have the new scoreboard but they
have to make sure they control the process. Imagine what they could use that money for instead of the scoreboard, but the budget already has it earmarked for that purpose - Sam's Stadium improvements. I agree that teachers deserve a high salary, but those of us who decided to become teachers knew we were going to be the lowest paying employees in the salary scale - even though we educate every other person going into every other profession.
what is so special with this scoreboard does it give more points to the home team.
ha ha !
Someone is getting points alright —-
We don’t need buildings or turf for scoreboard
We need a national search for a leader
THAT IS TRUE !
We need a national search for a leader FOR BISD.
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