Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Is it all a matter of interpretation? Or is it a matter of territory?
Or is it deteriorating into a pissing match?
The interpretation to these questions are but two that are in contention as the Brownsville Independent School District reconsiders its decision to stop giving free meals to district students at district campuses.
Just yesterday, during a meeting of the board of the BISD, Superintendent Rene Gutierrez said the district expected to restart the delivery of meals to the 10 designated school campuses. Gutierrez said that the only obstacle was for the district to reach an agreement with the City of Brownsville and Cameron County so they can modify the Stay at Home and Shelter in Place declarations.
This follows the disaster declaration by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that effectively closes the schools. That, plus the travel restrictions in the county and city declarations, effectively put a crimp on the BISD's delivery of meals to the campuses and students.
But now, we have BISD's legal eagle, board counsel Baltazar Salazar, who claims outright that what Mayor Trey Mendez (and County Judge Eddie Trevino) say is of no consequence.
"The Mayor’s Amended Order which states that “School campuses shall be closed to students for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year” should be considered void and unenforceable as the Mayor has no jurisdiction over the Brownsville Independent School District.
Only the Governor of the State of Texas or the Commissioner of Education has jurisdiction over the BISD. Earlier this week the BISD reminded the Mayor of his lack of jurisdiction over BISD to no avail."Toward that end, Salazar states that Abbott specifically excluded BISD personnel implementing the district's meal program.
"The Texas Governor on March 31, 2020 issued an Executive Order, GA-14, under Tex.Govt.Code §418.014 relating to the statewide continuity of essential services and activities during the COVID-19 disaster...
"Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce (ECIW), Version 2.0, which provides an advisory list of critical-infrastructure sectors, workers, and functions which should continue during the COVID-19 disaster."
In reviewing the ECIW it specifically defines essential workers as "FOOD AND AGRICULTURE-Government, private, and non-governmental organizations' workers essential for food assistance programs (including school lunch programs) and governmental programs."
Thus, all BISD employees and support personnel providing school lunch to our students are categorized as Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce under the CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)."
Salazar, in effect, says that BISD does not have to follow the order by th order by Mendez - and Trevino - to close the schools and school functions through the Stay at Home orders. He's been wrong plenty times before. Is he wrong now?
There seems to be precedent in a Texas Attorney General's Office Opinion issued October 2009, for the mayor to order the closing of the schools or control the movement of people to prevent further contagion of the public.
Educators and educational administrators caught in the building upward curve of the virus of CODIV-19 contagion have faced this before in school communities similar in socio-economic characteristics similar to the BISD. With a high percentage of disadvantaged students, needs in transportation and no existing contingency plan for this novel kind of event, each has has to face and deal with the issue.Chicago Public Schools, for example, dealt with it this way.
Who will blink?
That should prove irrelevant since the critical issue at the crux of the territorial dispute - the safe feeding of hungry school kids - should take priority in everyone's agenda.