By Juan Montoya
A legal opinion from Brownsville Independent School District general counsel Baltazar Salazar that hiring a new public information officer without going through the hiring process was no legal will now see the district advertise for the replacement of Ernie Garrido.
The administration had recommended that the board approve the hiring of former Herald and UTB staffer Ronnie Zamora, said to be pushed by trustee Joe Rodriguez. The administration had tried to argue that wince Zamora had been one of the top applicants when Garrido was hired eight months ago, he should just be inserted in Garrido's place.
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However, questions from board members and the Salazar counsel moved board president Cesar Lopez to pull the item when it came up for consideration.
The action came during a board special meeting Monday. The board decided to wait until Salazar could give them a firm endorsement (or rejection) on the legality of the hiring process used by the administration's on its recommendation to hire Zamora.
Rodriguez fared better in his push to hire San Benito High School football offensive coordination Gilbert Leal despite arguments from some board members that the district had many qualified and capable personnel and should look in-house and give current employees a chance at advancement.
"We have many more than capable candidates among our employees and we should give them an opportunity," said trustee Dr. Sylvia Atkinson. "It's a shame, that we are not. It's a travesty that we don't give a chance to our internal applicants."
And even though trustee Phil Cowen aldo said he "had expressed some concerns," he said that the administration's explanations had resolved them. Likewise, trustee Minerva Peña also said she had unresolved issues and said she could not support Leal's hiring as AD to replace Tom Chavez, the current AD who is also River High School's football coach.
Rodriguez spoke out for Leal's hiring saying that he had been vetted "by at least 18 people," and not by one or two as other applicants. Leal is seen to have been hand-picked by Rodriguez to replace Chavez, his longtime protege.
Leal, formerly a Harlingen High School South coach, and currently offensive coordinator with San Benito, has had several embarrassments along the way.
Among those was a DWI he picked up in 2011 when he was removed as head coach and moved to a lesser administrative position in the sports department. After Harlingen he moved on to the Hidalgo ISD as a member of the football staff.
While with the Harlingen South Hawks, he racked up an equally unimpressive 2-23 W-L record. Before, in Mercedes, he had a better 25-18 record. Still, Rodriguez's motion to approve barely survived on a 4-3 vote.
"Coach Joe lost on Zamora, but he prevailed on Leal," said a BISD administrator. "He's used to winning most of the time."
A non-action item to reconsider the purchase of the $1.4 million LED scoreboard for Sams Stadium placed on the agenda by Atkinson got nowhere when the purchasing department staff assured the board members that the sound system included with the LED scoreboard would include a sound system for the entire stadium.
Although some of the items considered in executive sessions included grievances and potential litigation, the item concerning Hugh Emerson drew some pointed remarks by Atkinson and Peña.
Although the specifics of the Emerson complaint were not revealed, it is common knowledge in the district that Emerson felt that a remark made to him by Rodriguez after he did not support his candidate in a recent district election might result in retaliation against him or his wife, who works form the district.
"We want to encourage participation in the elective process," Atkinson said.
"I second that," Rodriguez interjected.
"We should make sure that our employees fell free to participate in the process with the election season coming up again this November," she continued.
"I feel the same way," Peña said after Atkinson finished her remarks. "We should encourage participation.
"I second that, too," quipped Rodriguez.
A legal opinion from Brownsville Independent School District general counsel Baltazar Salazar that hiring a new public information officer without going through the hiring process was no legal will now see the district advertise for the replacement of Ernie Garrido.
The administration had recommended that the board approve the hiring of former Herald and UTB staffer Ronnie Zamora, said to be pushed by trustee Joe Rodriguez. The administration had tried to argue that wince Zamora had been one of the top applicants when Garrido was hired eight months ago, he should just be inserted in Garrido's place.
The action came during a board special meeting Monday. The board decided to wait until Salazar could give them a firm endorsement (or rejection) on the legality of the hiring process used by the administration's on its recommendation to hire Zamora.
Rodriguez fared better in his push to hire San Benito High School football offensive coordination Gilbert Leal despite arguments from some board members that the district had many qualified and capable personnel and should look in-house and give current employees a chance at advancement.
"We have many more than capable candidates among our employees and we should give them an opportunity," said trustee Dr. Sylvia Atkinson. "It's a shame, that we are not. It's a travesty that we don't give a chance to our internal applicants."
And even though trustee Phil Cowen aldo said he "had expressed some concerns," he said that the administration's explanations had resolved them. Likewise, trustee Minerva Peña also said she had unresolved issues and said she could not support Leal's hiring as AD to replace Tom Chavez, the current AD who is also River High School's football coach.
Rodriguez spoke out for Leal's hiring saying that he had been vetted "by at least 18 people," and not by one or two as other applicants. Leal is seen to have been hand-picked by Rodriguez to replace Chavez, his longtime protege.
Leal, formerly a Harlingen High School South coach, and currently offensive coordinator with San Benito, has had several embarrassments along the way.
Among those was a DWI he picked up in 2011 when he was removed as head coach and moved to a lesser administrative position in the sports department. After Harlingen he moved on to the Hidalgo ISD as a member of the football staff.
While with the Harlingen South Hawks, he racked up an equally unimpressive 2-23 W-L record. Before, in Mercedes, he had a better 25-18 record. Still, Rodriguez's motion to approve barely survived on a 4-3 vote.
"Coach Joe lost on Zamora, but he prevailed on Leal," said a BISD administrator. "He's used to winning most of the time."
A non-action item to reconsider the purchase of the $1.4 million LED scoreboard for Sams Stadium placed on the agenda by Atkinson got nowhere when the purchasing department staff assured the board members that the sound system included with the LED scoreboard would include a sound system for the entire stadium.
Although some of the items considered in executive sessions included grievances and potential litigation, the item concerning Hugh Emerson drew some pointed remarks by Atkinson and Peña.
Although the specifics of the Emerson complaint were not revealed, it is common knowledge in the district that Emerson felt that a remark made to him by Rodriguez after he did not support his candidate in a recent district election might result in retaliation against him or his wife, who works form the district.
"We want to encourage participation in the elective process," Atkinson said.
"I second that," Rodriguez interjected.
"We should make sure that our employees fell free to participate in the process with the election season coming up again this November," she continued.
"I feel the same way," Peña said after Atkinson finished her remarks. "We should encourage participation.
"I second that, too," quipped Rodriguez.