A word to the wise in the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District: Don't cross former Brownsville Independent School District superintendent Esperanza Zendejas.
She has been hired as the new SBCISD Human Resources director.
In her reign at the BISD, many administrators who ran afoul of her – and her board majority – soon regretted getting in her way.
Take, for example, the time that Purchasing Director Rosario (Rosie) Peña alerted BISD staff that an appearance by a vendor for artificial turf company Paragon was scheduled before the Facilities Committee without being vetted by the Purchasing Dept. Further Peña copied her email to many BISD staff and board members.
All evidence points to a decision made by Zendejas on her own and pushed by her at the BISD Facilities Committee meeting, and that she did so at the recommendation of fellow superintendents with who she "drank coffee," according to notes and emails generated by the participants.
Electronic correspondence acquired by El Rrun-Rrun, indicate that when BISD Maintenance Administrator Cesar Guerra on October 19, 2015 first asked the administration who would be presenting the report on the district's soccer fields the next day before the Facilities Committee chaired by trustee/chair Cesar Lopez, Zendejas had directed him to Coach Jason Starkey because she could not remember his name. Starkey was listed on the BISD directory as the Lopez Early College High School Athletic Coordinator.
Guerra then emailed Rosario Peña, BISD's Administrator for Purchasing at 2:36 p.m. October 20, less than an hour and a half before the meeting, that Starkey had informed him that the presenter's name was William Chaffe, representing Paragon Sports which installs artificial turf on football and soccer fields and running tracks.
When Peña learned the presenter's name, she asked whether Paragon Sports was listed on the Texas Association of School Boards' vendor list.
She then alerted CFO Lucio Mendoza, Garza, Acting Area Administrator for Maintenance and Facilities Kent Whittemore, and Senior Buyer Corpus Zoroal, and BISD board secretary Pat Perez that trustee Cesar Lopez, Facilites Committee Chair, who was a Buy Board representative for the South, Southeast Texas and El Paso Regions (Regions 1-6, 19) and that he should abstain from discussions on the item.
In fact, Peña's concerns that Purchasing had not been involved in vetting Paragon Sports, a vendor listed on the TASB Buy Board, were contained in an email she sent to the Superintendent and numerous district staff members involved in the construction of new facilities.
In that memo, she also cautioned Facilities Committee Chairman Lopez that since he was a regional director of the TASB Buy Board, he should refrain from participating in the discussion on in the eventual vote when the item came before the board.
The agenda item read: "Presentation on High School Soccer Fields." and did not mention the presenter or who had chosen the company install the artificial turf.
Although the board could choose a Buy Board vendor without going through the bidding process, "The Purchasing Department was not involved in the selection process for this vendor," she wrote.
An information request to the BISD revealed that the installation of artificial turf has cost the district a pretty penny. To date, close to $7 million in BISD dollars went to Paragon without the benefit of competitive bidding.
That act alone cost Peña her job in purchasing and earned her a private meeting between her, Mendoza, and Zendejas where Zendejas questioned her motives for sending the offending email.
In due time, Peña was sent to the Food and Nutrition Services Dept., the Siberia of the BISD where offending administrators were shunted and joined the "hairnet" set.
Zendejas took umbrage that Peña had questioned her motives for allowing only one vendor to make a presentation before the committee. The "fix," apparently, was already in with the coordinated campaign for Paragon manipulated by then-trustee (and former BISD A.D.) "Coach" Joe Rodriguez, who had brought Zendejas back from a small charter-school gig in McAllen.
It has been eight months ago that Zendejas resigned as Brownsville ISD’s superintendent, Esperanza Zendejas is taking over as the San Benito school district’s human resources director. Hired at $98,493, she will replace Henry Sanchez, now principal at Gateway to Graduation Academy.
Her annual salary at BISD when she resigned was $305,000.
“I am appreciative of the opportunity to join the San Benito CISD team!” reported the Valley Morning Star. “As the director of human resources, I look forward to working with a fine team of employees.”
Superintendent Nate Carman called Zendejas “a tremendous asset” to the district.
Zendejas first served as Brownsville’s superintendent from 1992-1995, returned to the district’s top administrative position in June 2015. In January, board members voted 7-0 to place her on paid administrative leave amid an inquiry into what she said involved projects during a drive to upgrade facilities across the district.
Then in February, Zendejas resigned following a school board meeting that stretched into the early morning hours before the two parties stated they had reached an agreement allowing Zendejas to pursue other interests while permitting the board to hire a new superintendent.
Zendejas holds a doctorate in administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.
She began her educational career as a middle school classroom teacher in 1975, going on to serve as a teacher, school principal, program administrator, and school superintendent.
In fact, Peña's concerns that Purchasing had not been involved in vetting Paragon Sports, a vendor listed on the TASB Buy Board, were contained in an email she sent to the Superintendent and numerous district staff members involved in the construction of new facilities.
In that memo, she also cautioned Facilities Committee Chairman Lopez that since he was a regional director of the TASB Buy Board, he should refrain from participating in the discussion on in the eventual vote when the item came before the board.
The agenda item read: "Presentation on High School Soccer Fields." and did not mention the presenter or who had chosen the company install the artificial turf.
Although the board could choose a Buy Board vendor without going through the bidding process, "The Purchasing Department was not involved in the selection process for this vendor," she wrote.
An information request to the BISD revealed that the installation of artificial turf has cost the district a pretty penny. To date, close to $7 million in BISD dollars went to Paragon without the benefit of competitive bidding.
That act alone cost Peña her job in purchasing and earned her a private meeting between her, Mendoza, and Zendejas where Zendejas questioned her motives for sending the offending email.
In due time, Peña was sent to the Food and Nutrition Services Dept., the Siberia of the BISD where offending administrators were shunted and joined the "hairnet" set.
Zendejas took umbrage that Peña had questioned her motives for allowing only one vendor to make a presentation before the committee. The "fix," apparently, was already in with the coordinated campaign for Paragon manipulated by then-trustee (and former BISD A.D.) "Coach" Joe Rodriguez, who had brought Zendejas back from a small charter-school gig in McAllen.
It has been eight months ago that Zendejas resigned as Brownsville ISD’s superintendent, Esperanza Zendejas is taking over as the San Benito school district’s human resources director. Hired at $98,493, she will replace Henry Sanchez, now principal at Gateway to Graduation Academy.
Her annual salary at BISD when she resigned was $305,000.
“I am appreciative of the opportunity to join the San Benito CISD team!” reported the Valley Morning Star. “As the director of human resources, I look forward to working with a fine team of employees.”
Superintendent Nate Carman called Zendejas “a tremendous asset” to the district.
Zendejas first served as Brownsville’s superintendent from 1992-1995, returned to the district’s top administrative position in June 2015. In January, board members voted 7-0 to place her on paid administrative leave amid an inquiry into what she said involved projects during a drive to upgrade facilities across the district.
Then in February, Zendejas resigned following a school board meeting that stretched into the early morning hours before the two parties stated they had reached an agreement allowing Zendejas to pursue other interests while permitting the board to hire a new superintendent.
Zendejas holds a doctorate in administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.
She began her educational career as a middle school classroom teacher in 1975, going on to serve as a teacher, school principal, program administrator, and school superintendent.
19 comments:
So, San Benito knows what they are doing and since they received a B rating, they were smart enough to hire Dr. Zendejas, for she gets things done. Look at BISD and how when she has been at the helm, it got accolade after accolade and as the new supt. says himself, CONTINUES that process. At least he realizes that the district was already in good order before he came in and this new accolades have nothing to do with him yet. Our loss is San Benito's gain and she in a position where she can use her knowledge and expertise to help SB come back to an A rating. I give her one year to prove herself to the district that was smart enough to hire her. Best to your, Dr. Zendejas, and I wish you extreme success but still do warn you about school board members who tend to get Supt. in trouble. They are the ones that vote for the item and then they go back and try to put the total blame on the supt. Show SB what can be done when your heart is in it for the students, like you always were for the BISD students. Congratulations on your new job.
How interesting! When an employee is not doing his/her job, the supervisor must see to it that they be removed. When an employee does not follow the chain of command as dictated to in district policy, he/she deserves to be moved. Rosie should be glad she was not fired for insubordination, as well as many other who were also dismissed. Esperanza was hired to do just that - lead the district and that she did both times she was here. Many of her initiatives since 1992 are still being used within the district, so obviously, they proved to be productive. She is human and she in not perfect but she was in charge of taking care of the district for the good of the students. Todos hijos de Dios o todos hijos del diablo and she believed in that and got rid of the rotten apples who were not there for the good of the children. I agree with the blogger that says that our loss is San Benito's gain and more power to them for knowing the difference between truth and retaliation tactics. Como te quedo el ojo, SPA and SHE is not and never was in it for the money, como tu.
San Benito is the New Austin. Keep it weird DLR
WOW, SOMEONE HAS IT OUT FOR, HOPE!!!
EDDIE LUCIO III BOUGHT A HOUSE FROM KENT WHITTEMORE.
At least Dr. Z was hired by SB in spite of the adversity that the board decided to go with. San Benito hired her while in turn, if I remember correctly, didn't even look at the application SPA turned in to them when desperately looking for a job after they kicked her out of Rio Hondo. Teachers in SB threatened to boycott or walk out if SPA was hired. And how right the 4:41 blogger is about someone out to get Dr. Z. I give you 3 guesses and the first two don't count.
Pos que tanto corage con la doctora? Embidia? Como todo Mejicano seboso y no puede ver que alguen vale mas que ella or el propio. La doctora vea por los ninos y por eso los estudientes trabajaban bien con ella. !Que vuerguenza que los ninos se portatan major que los adulto. Siga Adelante, Sra. Zendejas y que Dios la bendiga en su nueva chamba! Haga todo con orgullo.
insubordination is not calling out corruption.
Great! Stay away from BISD.
Dr Zendejas did a good man at BISD. Brownsville is a political town with a history of running off their best people and best opportunities. We recently lost a steel plant to Sinton,Texas for Christ sakes. We lost our University.to Mcallen and Southwest Airlines to Harlingen. Property owners in the Port of Brownsville pays property taxes to port Isabel ISD, not brownsville ISD. We are our own worst enemy. BISD was doing great with zendejas. San Benito is lucky to have zendajas but the board needs to let her do her job.
Its a historical decision they figure that hiring her san bene would continue to be along side brownsville QUE PENDEJOS...
I heard that one of the decision makers fell of the chair when he heard all her credential.
The one that fell of her chair was la vieja Atkinson when she was so busy leaning over to tell Minerva what to say at the board meeting. Her weight was too much for the chair and she flipped over - blaming it on a broken chair.
Yep, she broke it with her weight that she tries to throw around everywhere she goes. And if SB board member fell out of his chair was for joy that such a lady would even consider the district knowing her credentials and how she has contributed to the cause at BISD. Remember, this lady is known Nationwide and rightfully so. Just watch and see SB go up in ratings. Go for it, Dr. Z
It looks like someone is trying to distract everyone from the Atkinson report on harassment of top administrators. Don’t worry everyone read that report..everyone knows. Zendejas was also a subject of Atkinson’s harassment, just like “la Minnie” who is too blind to see how Atkinson uses her. Even la Minnie’s family has told her to stay away from Atkinson. The bully is tough and “ la Minnie no puede con Ella. She drives all The back door deals with the board keep going and La Minnie can’t control it. Zendejas was a great leader and is better off without Atkinson and her puppets.
Dr Zendejas is number one i my book. We got an A two years in a row. We were stripped the first year but came back with. So she will do great in San Benito.
"She drives all The back door deals with the board" Now we know why she was hired over at san bene pinches chuecos...
I heard they just finished that RGV wing over at FLA federal pen. They are just waiting to welcome more semi-permanent residents-could it be san bene's turn WAIT AND SEE!!!!
Dr Z is a gem. Because of her BISD has the A rating. She needs to be hired as a consultant to all the charter schools that will put BISD out of business. Pink slips need to be given out to failing BISD that robs taxpayers of money y los werkos todavía salen como burros. “A” rating my ass. It doesn’t mean shit when the proof is in the pudding: ill educated kids that can’t hack it. Kids at BISD can’t hack real college and university classes. Our colleges and universities are full of BISD kids failing classes. BISD needs to be closed down as it has nothing but crooks too political to put quality education for students first. All those BISDers in admin want mordidas from vendors and to climb the top at the expense of others. It is the worst cesspool and has a F rating for the worst places to work at in Brownsville. If you work at BISD or are a board member, “shut up” you’re as bad as the crooks there because you support it and put up with the bullshit. You are a part of the problem that is sinking quality education in Brownsville. Be ashamed to be a coward that works there at the biggest sinking ship in Brownsville. Pink slips coming when the A rating sinks with Zendejas gone. All these underperforming schools need to be shut down. And they are all underperforming. Put your kids in Harmony, Jubilee, or IDEA if you can’t afford private. BISD is hopeless and a sinking ship. Just you wait! More schools will close as parents pull their kids from the BISD political madness.
zendejas was hired at the human resources dept not for superintendent.
Maybe if BISD had a rating of F the cheese board would have given her a raise and a new contract of 1 million per year. Typical elected pendejos.
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