So, 22-year-old Beatriz Garza, fresh out of college, was “one of the most qualified candidates” for the just-filled school board seat?
How can Rodolfo Lopez say this with a straight face? Were all the other candidates homeless people and al-Qaida terrorists?
It all looks fishy that someone with simply a bachelor’s degree in business administration beats out others with degrees, political experience, maturity, political savvy, professional experience, and children. (I’m convinced that you can’t really know and care about the school system unless you have kids who are there or who have been there.)
The way Garza got in smells. It appears that a block of trustees wants to have a puppet, trusting their judgment instead of using her own, and blindly siding with them at every turn. It’s sad, and it shows that some current board members only wish to expand their sphere of influence instead of provide our community with the quality representation that we and our kids deserve.
I did think that the previous block of Fuentes-McBeath-Cary had grown tiresome, but I was hoping for Lopez to lose his election bid. From what I remember, one of his biggest campaign platforms was to take it easier on delinquent taxpayers.
What kind of policy is that? How hard is it to pay your taxes? A person who can afford property should be able to afford the property taxes. It’s like saying, “I bought a new car, but I can’t afford gas.” One goes with the other. You know that when you make your purchase, and if you can’t afford something you own, then you sell it -- or you can wait for the bank, the county, the city or the school district to take it away and sell it for you.
In the past, many people chose not to pay their school taxes because they saw no deterrent in making that their lowest financial priority. Lopez wants to take us back to those days when millions of dollars went uncollected because people realized they could just toss their tax bill in the trash and nothing would happen.
Now, Alfonso Nevarez has resigned his seat, and this majority that chose Garza gets to pick another puppet, creating a super majority. If they’re smart, though, they would pick someone actually qualified this time, to make less obvious their lack of concern about really serving the community.
I try to give people credit, and maybe good things can come from Garza’s selection. For one, the board needed more representation from the south side. If Garza can keep an independent mind and not care about alienating some of the “powers that be,” she could give a lift to Winn and Memorial and their feeder schools.
Secondly, it should help the Kickapoo tribe and the Kickapoo children to know that they’re not helpless in solving their educational failings. Maybe Garza can help find and provide what the Kickapoo kids need to have success in school. Few of them finish high school and even fewer complete college, so as one who did make it, Garza has the potential to help others find the way.
Currently, on the EP Alumni message board, a couple of postings praise the “great” accomplishments of the previous school board. Though, I think they fell short of “greatness,” they did do many good things. They also stood out from other boards through something they didn’t do. They didn’t look at every situation and ask, “How can I use this to my own benefit, or to the benefit of my buddies or my family members?” Leading up to the election, they did make some questionable calls, though, and those actions led to their downfall.
We want our school board members to ask themselves with each vote, “Am I doing the right thing, or am I doing the selfish, self-serving thing?” How about you, Mr. Lopez? Are you going to do the right thing?
3 comments:
Hey I really don't see nothing wrong with utilizing a member of the Kickapoo tribe as a school board member. More power to the Texas Traditional Kickappoo Tribe.
I think this is the first time I regrest who I voted for. And yes, I am referring to voting for Mr. Lopez at the school board election. I thought that he was there to represent the community. Now I'm starting to see how selfish the new school board will be working. I thought the old days of "I will hire my compadre or comadre" were over. There has to be something "fishy" on the new school board appointment. I would be ok if the appointment was backed up with facts of why is is better qualified that the others that applied. on the last school board meeting there was one or two intructional officers that were not approved by the school board. they approved the C.C. Winn head coach's wife as a counselor. that's a whole different story within itself. but what I see "fishy" is that the intructional officers were not approved. And what makes this "fishy"? There were no reasons why they were not approved. I suspect they want another "compadre" for that positio. If that instructional officer had already gone through all the interviewing process and already approved by a panel why not approve that position? and worst of all, why not give an explanation. Is that what the Eagle Pass community be expecting. The board making their own moves without explanations. To me that seems like selfish moves, not working for the community.
Sorry about the delay in moderating your comments. I'm back from vacation and ready to go again. I really appreciate the scattered reader contributions. I think I mentioned before that, like you, I also hate it when the board rejects recommendations from its staff -- as you say they did with the instructional officers. Such rejections show a lack of faith in the professionals who run the district and do little except create distrust and suspicion. Usually such actions indicate the board's desire to meddle in day-to-day operations, which goes beyond their legally defined role.
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