BOARD COUNSEL RULES: TAIL WAGS THE DOG AT BISD

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

With two votes missing on the board of the Brownsville Independent School District, it has become apparent that board counsel Balutazar Salazar is orchestrating events there for his own benefit.

For instance, the board accepted the resignation of trustee Erasmo Castro, who had been one of the board members who had joined Laura Perez Reyes and Philip Cowen to  to have Board Attorney’s (Salazar) contract as a standing item on agenda, in effect a monthly job review.

Salazar advised the board that the constitutional "holdover" provision allowing Castro to remain on the board pending the board appointing a replacement did not apply in his case. Many legal observers disputed that determination by Salazar citing the Texas constitutional provision.

In effect, that determination was self serving and poses a probable conflict of interest because Castro could have joined the other members to make Salazar's contract reviewed each month, similar to the standing item regarding the superintendent's contract.

That item resulted in a 3-2 vote and the only way that can be brought back is for a trustee who voted in favor of the item to bring it back.

Now, with trustee Dr. Sylvia Atkinson prevented from attending meetings or to be on BISD campuses because she is prohibited by the conditions of her bond on federal charges and Castro no longer a board member - despite the holdover provision - Salazar leads a charmed existence.

It was April 1, 2013 – appropriately April Fools' Day – when Salazar was making his pitch to be hired by the district from among six other firms that had made the cut.

When he came to the podium to make his presentation, he stressed the fact that he was a straight shooter who would "stab you in the front" in contrast to others who would stab you in the back.


He looked at trustee Minerva Peña and said pointedly: "I've known some of you since I was a kid," and said his goal was "not to make money."

He promised he would "tone down your legal expenses" and bring "stability, because you have chaos, and when there's chaos, lawyers make money."

At last night's meeting, the board approved payments to outside counsel chosen by Salazar to handle difficult cases and even considered hiring another firm. What does Salazar do to earn his $280,000?

The school district, he told them, had "become a cash cow" because the district did not follow procedure and said he was there "to serve the board as a whole."

The fact that Salazar had input into the item concerning his contract is obviously a conflict of interest and a penchant for looking after his self interest. Has Salazar managed to pull of a palace coup and is now able to take advantage of the chaos to manipulate the board for his own benefit?