By Juan Montoya
After months of mounting complaints against the Brownsville Independent School District Special Services Director Dr. Sandra I. Rodriguez, El Rrun-Rrun has confirmed that the district has placed Rodriguez on leave today and launched an investigation into the department's operations.
Sources in the BISD have confirmed that Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas placed Rodriguez on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The majority of funds in the department comes from federal funds and the district is rife with rumors that federal investigators have already interviewed several trustee and administrators.
However, the suspension came about because of concerns raised with the BISD by the by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), sources say.
The hiring of Rodriguez as director of Special Services Dept. has been seen as a favor Zendejas to trustee Joe Rodriguez. According to them, Dr. Rodriguez is the wife of Los Fresnos CISD coach Ronnie Rodriguez, a Coach Joe crony. Sources say that the quid pro quo might have been that the new director would redirect Special Services to the general fund to augment the funds to pay for the $1.4 million scoreboard for Sams Stadium.
The cost-cutting in services to appropriate staffing and services to special needs students have wreaked havoc in the department and lowered morale among student advocates and parents, they said.
The result has been a situation that deprives students of critical services and exposed staff to work in unsafe conditions, they say. And they hint that they are on the brink of filing a class action grievance with the board and have met with local attorneys to assess the a legal recourse should that prove necessary.
These fears and other complaints about the operation of the department since her arrival led the staff there to seek the assistance of Zendejas and board president Cesar Lopez to no avail. And they say that the behavior that got her removed after a stormy tenure as an administrator at Martin Elementary School is now being exercised in Special Needs.
Insiders say that her appointment to Special Services was made possible in a deal cut by trustee Joe Rodriguez and Zendejas. Dr. Rodriguez's husband Ronnie is on the BISD coaching staff and Coach Joe is said to have pressured the superintendent to hire her. In return, she is said to have agreed to make budget cuts to the services provided special needs students so that the funds could be returned at the end of the year to the BISD general fund. (Lopez had promised to help them, but allegedly backed off after he discovered the Coach Joe-Zendejas deal.)
The goal? According to BISD sources, that would amount to close to $600,000, the original cost of the scoreboard before it grew to $1.4 million.
The board, by a 7-0 vote, approved the purchase of the "state-of-the-art" scoreboard for Sams Stadium from a BuyBoard vendor without the benefit of a Request For Proposals, that is, competitive bidding.
Other BISD sources say that federal investigators have already contacted several trustees and BISD administrators on a number of issues involved with the BISD, including Special Services and the Food and Nutrition Services Department.
25 comments:
Dr. Rodriquez,another Rachel Ayala.
joe rod is the head pimp
With all the "mordida" being paid out at BISD and the growing corruption; hopefully the federal government steps in to investigate. We can't depend on local investigations.....too much "compadrismo" and greed. How can these folks discipline a man for stuffing political flyers in school mail boxes, when the administration is doing far worse.
New nickname Joe the Pimp fits.
Anonymous 3:09 please specify, Rachel Ayala the mother or Rachel Ayala the daughter?? or both! lol
Hope this is true! They all belong in prison! Including Cesar Lopez!!!!
Zendejas is in over her head! Coach Joe will blame everything on her before he gets charged with wrong doings.
You have it wrong Montoya. Check your facts. The purchase of scoreboard has nothing to special ed funding. This looks like an Atkinson attempt to discredit coach. Check your facts.
Sounds like she treats her staff like the Supt does
How’s the board gonna allow it but not allow it
Juan, look into Sylvia Barguiarena at Special Services (BISD) she is underground for the board. She is a person of interest, watch her she is wily, she is
Fallow the Money Juan, like Watergate, fallow the money.....We are seeing what you do...Good journalism Juan
Juan, Look into the unknown and behind the scense's Sylvia Barguiarena (BISD) Special Services's is really corrupted....Get her Juan, she is evil. Thank you
(joe rod is the head pimp)
Looks more like an fat, ugly old whore.
Elchuko.
This article is riddled with inaccuracies.... don’t believe everything your read. Dr. Sandra Rodriguez is an intelligent, capable leader who is an asset to any organization she works for.
This article is riddled with inaccuracies.... don’t believe everything your read. Dr. Sandra Rodriguez is an intelligent, capable leader who is an asset to any organization she works for.
To borrow from baseball’s great philosopher Yogi Berra: it seemed like déjà vu all over again.
S.c.a.p.e.g.o.a.t.!!
Juan, look in the shadows, in the darkness of it all and you will find Sylvia Barguiarena at Special Services, a person of very much interest. She's quiet but autocratic and dictatorial. We staff don't want her around much longer, she is not an asset to the department. Help us with your reporting on this selfish woman. Help us because Main Office won't...Gracias
And Dr. Lee, is he still in Special Services or special counsel to the sup?
Rachel Ayala the mother
@3:09 & @7:29 They’re both the same and to think that Rachel Ayala Jr is a finalist for AA. UNBELIEVABLE, horrible personality, just like her mom
Watching you all squabble over crappy BISD jobs is hilarious. Who the hell wants to work at BISD? The bottom of the barrel college grads, that's who.
Rodriquez tells people that she doesn't need to go to meetings because she "already knows everything and is smarter than everyone." How smug.
Supt has the same attitude
Which is why both are terrible leader
But doesn’t matter cuz joe rules
ummm,
Unknown, i clicked on your G+ icon and your name came out. I don't know if you know that.
Let's talk about the students now!!!
i think what sucks is when the beautiful talented dance teams work so hard and dress so beautifully with their awesome costumes, flawless made up faces, and countless sweat and hours they put into their dance and are so excited to perform for the crowds, and the stupid PA system cuts off the announcers and the music! We travel all over the valley to watch football games and no other school district has this problem. Don't blame it that sams stadium is old. The PA system has nothing to do with that. Get a damn good system in there! It's kinda late. All of my children are done with BISD as of this May. But please, do it to save our district from all the embarrassment. Go check out other stadiums on Football season Friday night games and see how it's done! Por eso estamos como estamos. Mucho chisme, mucho criticar y nada para los estudiantes. Wake up Brownsville!
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