Brownsville ISD board approves forensic audit on 4-3 vote
Feb. 6—By a 4-3 vote, the Brownsville ISD Board of Trustees approved a forensic audit of the 2015 Tax Ratification Election, following an exchange between Trustee Minerva Pena and Mary Garza of the district's finance department.
The board's attorney cautioned the agenda item would have to come back for approval once a contract has been drafted.
"For the record, what you have here is not approving a contract. It's not approving an auditor or anything, so this item will come back with the actual contract for the auditor and the cost associated with that," he said.
Board president Erasmo Castro voted against the audit, as did Trustees Daniella Lopez Valdez and Jessica G. Gonzalez. Pena while Trustees Carlos Elizondo, Frank Ortiz and Denise Garza voted in favor.
During the interchange, Pena contended that the district's administration in 2015, headed by then-Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas, said publicly that a performing arts center was on the TRE election ballot, which voters approved.
However, Mary Garza said the vote in question was in 2017, not 2015.
"I remember ... and the performing arts center on Morrison Road was promised to the public and the public got to vote on the TRE," Pena said.
"I'm sorry, the public did not get to vote on the TRE. The TRE was in 2015. They did vote it for that, but the fine arts was not one of the projects in 2015 for the TRE," Garza told the board.
"I understand that, Mary, but that is not what was said publicly by administrators, and I was present at those events is what I'm telling you. When they turn around ... I even asked an administrator, Mary, and they specifically told me yes ma'am we're gonna build that with that, and that's why the public ran out there and pushed that 100%. Mary, I was there at several events and that was it. I know what you're saying. I'm glad you are saying that they were saying it but that's where the public gets scared because you tell them one thing, they vote, you come back, and we find different ways of maneuvering and tell them you know what, we can't do this. I hear what you're saying but it wasn't put in writing," Pena said.
"The fine arts was one of the projects that was discussed during the budget meetings for 2017, for the fiscal year 2017-2018," Garza said, adding that pamphlets for the election show the same.
At that point, Elizondo joined the conversation.
"Ma'am I don't want to interrupt but I was at those meetings, too, and Mr. Castro was sitting up here, and that's exactly what was told to us and to the public. This is the reason this room was full of band kids. ... Anybody that was in the performing arts curriculum was present and this was exactly what was told to the parents," he said
Pena said her concern was simple. "When we say we're going to do something, we need to commit to it and not sugarcoat it and just say half the thing and not say the other half."
Garza said PAC was discussed for the 2017-2018 budget, and in 2019 because of compression, the monies were no longer there and the priorities changed."
Lopez Valdez added, "Every single time we bring it up and every single time we have to explain it again. I've seen this in a chart. I've seen this in a graph, I saw it on the board in the superintendent's office and I know that the community's heard it several times."
Denise Garza then asked, remotely, if Pena's motion was for an audit of the TRE from 2015. Pena said it was, and the board voted, with Garza joining Elizondo, Ortiz and Pena in favor.
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