CATY DECRIES BISD'S LACK OF VISION AND POSITIVE DIRECTION

By  Caty Presas-Garcia

My Fellow Citizens,

For the past two years I’ve been a resident/citizen of the Brownsville Independent School District  system and have watched its deterioration and some board members' lack of respect for our community, its students, and taxpayers with growing concern.

This election, we have a chance to stop this regression and set our district in the right direction.

Our glorious school district used to be a source of pride of our community. Teachers were tough - but fair - taskmasters who drove our students to their peak of achievement and excellence. Our students would graduate from our schools and compete with anyone else in the state when they got to college. BISD graduates in the past have been shining examples of well educated, cultured, and competitive leaders all over our country and even the world. Some became mayors of major cities, corporate leaders, and celebrated educators, artists, etc.,

But now our district is caught in a downward spiral of decline. There are waiting lines in local charter schools as parents see the shenanigans being pulled by some administrators and board members and are taking their children and leaving the district in droves. Enrollment is down, and the budgetary priorities and educational decisions made by our leaders – our administrators and board members – seem highly misplaced.

I've been on that side of the table before and served on different district committees and on state and  national boards like the Council Of Urban Board Of Education (CORE). The ideals  versus the practice stand in stark contrast like night and day.

I learned that to nurture a productive, successful district to educate our children, you need a clear vision and a passion to assure students are provided with the tools that will help them achieve the excellence we all want.

You have to have faith in the potential of all students.

You have to believe in cultivating the talent and drive in our students and involve them in programs and opportunities. If you do, you will create a learning environment that will set high expectations and challenge their minds with a rigorous curriculum and they will excel. You cannot give up on a single student. They might be your son or daughter, or mine.

I am one of you.

I graduated from Porter High School and have raised three Hanna High School graduates, Cris, Vincent and Santiago. My youngest, Santiago, was awarded a full scholarship in Laredo.

I have been blessed and cannot thank our Brownsville schools enough. I married an educator, Coach Adrian Garcia, now retired. BISD gave my children an education, and I, like 7,500 other Brownsville residents, was employed at one time as a BISD Maintenance and Facilities staff member, the Athletic Department, Hanna High, Oliveira  Middle School, the BAC, and the Aquatic Center.

I am now a Business Partner with DME in Mexico City. I was taught by my parents – and have passed on the lessons to my children – that you have to earn what you get. They know the value of hard work.

Politics being what they are, I am more than certain that there will be hidden hands slinging mud at certain candidates when they can't focus on the positive message we have to send to our community. Even at this early point in the campaign, their underhanded work has already started. They will spend money to protect their interests. And they will not think twice of hurting a candidate or their families. At the BISD, it comes, unfortunately, with the turf.

Having been in the thick of it, I will tell you what I will not do.

I will not be a vendor and sell services or products to the district to make a living. This tends to distract our vision of providing the best education to our kids and to focus instead on your personal bottom line and profit, shortchanging the mission of our schools.

I will not give up on our students and will continue to mentor children who struggle and whose parents feel like giving up in our public system. As board members, our duty is to envision success for all students and to use all means necessary to provide an opportunity for every student in BISD.

I will not set private priorities in the direction or budgetary decisions of the BISD. No more outrageous expenses and abuse of our tax dollars. Personal agendas have no place in the policies and goals of the district.

I will advocate for all children, teachers, staff and be responsible steward of taxpayers' money and maximize the district’s financial resources to the best of my ability with a team who cares. Believe with me in transparency and demand that our administrators and our board members abide by all the requirements of state law.

Academics alone cannot ensure a student’s success. Our students are talented and driven, and their involvement in extracurricular activities is a vital component of their education. Charter school cannot compete with our beloved BISD and its overachieving stars. Every resource should be placed within the reach of our students who hunger to excel.

We have vendors and current board members who pay lip service to the responsibilities of a public servant and want to push their personal agendas and will strive to discredit and stifle the opinions of anyone standing in their way.

I have stood up for what was right before and I will always defend the students of BISD, educators, staff, citizens from abusive and corrupted elected officials those who live off of our tax dollars that belong to our students, educators and education programs.

I have never gotten a penny from the litigation I and trustee Lucy Longoria filed against other board members and the board lawyer who tied to censor us - and indirectly - the voices of all those we represent, you. Having made our point, we non-suited and they got the message.

Sometimes there's a price to pay to stand up against corruption, but it's a price I have paid before and am willing to pay again. Invest in our district's integrity.

Good leadership requires an open door policy, a two-way communication flow, a clear vision and
direction, and a husbanding of our resources to provide and bring back the respect to our district and its employees.

I don't court controversy, but when something is not correct or against the law, I will speak and stand up for what’s best for our students, educators, citizens and all business owners. I believe and stand strong by ethics, the oath I will take to serve the district, our moral values, and state law.

I’m back. Will you stand with me? Together we can hold our head high and bring the integrity, respect and transparency to stop corruption at BISD. Let's make a difference together. Clean up our procurement process. No more rotten meat. No more suicides. No more winking and a nodding to mediocrity and business as usual.

Join me this election and cast your vote for a true voice that believes in our students, educators and
staff. Get involved and cast your vote for the truth and demand assertive leadership.