By Juan Montoya
On a night when the voters of Alabama said no to a lust-driven candidate for the U.S. Senate, a majority of the Brownsville Independent School District also rejected money-lusty trustee Joe Rodriguez's advances on $1.4 million for a "state-of-the-art" scoreboard for Sams Stadium and a move to name discredited trustee Carlos Elizondo president of the board.
Rodriguez has attempted for over a year to get a majority of the board to make the outlay for the scoreboard, but as several trustees pointed out – including his longtime ally on the Facilities Committee Phil Cowen – the sudden hike in the price of the board from $600,000 to $1.4 million had not been vetted by the committee or the board.
Rodriguez first tried to get the board to put out a little over $600,000 to update the scoreboard a few months ago, but since the board voted to increase property taxes by 11 cents, it made $120 million more available to spend through bond issues over the next five years, $15 million of which have been set aside for improvements for Sams Stadium.
As trustee Minerva Peña commented on the unexpected increase of the agenda item, Rodriguez taunted her by waving a sheet of paper as she spoke.
Even Cowen said that the $800,000 increase from the original price was a bit too much even for him to accept, telling Rodriguez the board could bring the item back in January even though that was not part of the motion before the board. Board president Cesar Lopez, facing reelection, also favored further study.
Dr. Sylvia Atkinson made the motion to table and Peña seconded before Rodriguez or his fellows on the board could make a motion to approve.
As Rodriguez complained that the item had been before the facilities committee and the board previously, he saw support for his item disappear before the arguments that a $800,000 increase in the amount of the item without being vetted was not acceptable to the majority.
"One point four million is a lot of money," Atkinson said. "I'll help you spend the $15 million Coach, but I'd rather spend the money on our pre-k program..."
When the vote to table the item was taken after discussion, only Rodriguez and Carlos Elizondo voted against it.
Just minutes after emerging from executive session, Rodriguez apologized to Lopez for what he said was his actions "attacking the referee" during a game.
"Don't worry coach, I'm used to be attacked as a referee...," Lopez trailed off.
The item on the agenda placed by Cowen which would have restructured the board and reportedly made Elizondo – under indictment for theft – president of the board beginning in January, was pulled from the agenda before it was voted upon.
On a night when the voters of Alabama said no to a lust-driven candidate for the U.S. Senate, a majority of the Brownsville Independent School District also rejected money-lusty trustee Joe Rodriguez's advances on $1.4 million for a "state-of-the-art" scoreboard for Sams Stadium and a move to name discredited trustee Carlos Elizondo president of the board.
Rodriguez has attempted for over a year to get a majority of the board to make the outlay for the scoreboard, but as several trustees pointed out – including his longtime ally on the Facilities Committee Phil Cowen – the sudden hike in the price of the board from $600,000 to $1.4 million had not been vetted by the committee or the board.
Rodriguez first tried to get the board to put out a little over $600,000 to update the scoreboard a few months ago, but since the board voted to increase property taxes by 11 cents, it made $120 million more available to spend through bond issues over the next five years, $15 million of which have been set aside for improvements for Sams Stadium.
As trustee Minerva Peña commented on the unexpected increase of the agenda item, Rodriguez taunted her by waving a sheet of paper as she spoke.
Even Cowen said that the $800,000 increase from the original price was a bit too much even for him to accept, telling Rodriguez the board could bring the item back in January even though that was not part of the motion before the board. Board president Cesar Lopez, facing reelection, also favored further study.
Dr. Sylvia Atkinson made the motion to table and Peña seconded before Rodriguez or his fellows on the board could make a motion to approve.
As Rodriguez complained that the item had been before the facilities committee and the board previously, he saw support for his item disappear before the arguments that a $800,000 increase in the amount of the item without being vetted was not acceptable to the majority.
"One point four million is a lot of money," Atkinson said. "I'll help you spend the $15 million Coach, but I'd rather spend the money on our pre-k program..."
When the vote to table the item was taken after discussion, only Rodriguez and Carlos Elizondo voted against it.
Just minutes after emerging from executive session, Rodriguez apologized to Lopez for what he said was his actions "attacking the referee" during a game.
"Don't worry coach, I'm used to be attacked as a referee...," Lopez trailed off.
The item on the agenda placed by Cowen which would have restructured the board and reportedly made Elizondo – under indictment for theft – president of the board beginning in January, was pulled from the agenda before it was voted upon.