By Juan Montoya
Just as the wheels of the gods grind slowly, so has the day of reckoning for Dr. Sylvia Atkinson, the Brownsville Independent School District trustee and former Texas Southmost College administrator who faces state and federal prosecutors in the respective courts.
![Dr. Sylvia Atkinson, Bringing Experience and Baggage to the ...]()
And just as pensioners dread the end of the month, Atkinson also faces state and federal actions one day apart at the end of June.
On June 29, a visiting judge is scheduled to hear Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz's petition for removal or suspension from her position as a member of the board of BISD in the 107th District Court at 900 E. Harrison Street.
The very next day, on June 30, she will be in federal court down the street - at 600 E. Harrison - in United States of America vs. Sylvia P. Atkinson for her pre-trial conference on her trial for conspiracy and corruption. Her trial is scheduled before Federal District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. July 6.
The state's action to remove Atkinson from her position as BISD trustee is based on the pending federal charges. The DA's office successfully removed San Benito ISD board president Michael Vargas under Texas Local Government Code 87.15 after he was charged with DWI before he went to court on the charge.
![BISD Trustee Castro Now Blames Colleague Sylvia Atkinson For Rumor ...]()
Additionally, former BISD trustee Erasmo Castro - rather than go through the removal proceedings in state court - opted to resign rather than fight a similar DWI charge.
On the other hand, Atkinson has, until today, chosen to contest her suspension or removal in state court and to fight the charges in federal court upon which the state removal petitions is based.
State law allows the presiding judge to remove or suspend an elected official pending the outcome of an action. Atkinson, as a condition of her bond in federal court, has been instructed not to engage in any business with the BISD and/or on behalf of BISD. She has not been allowed to attend any district function or BISD board meetings since her arrest.
At the crux of the federal government's case against Atkinson is a federal jury indictment issued December 11, 2019 charging her with one count of conspiracy, one of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and six others based on Travel Act-bribery counts.
Federal government prosecutors allege that she participated in "a long-running scheme to solicit bribes from vendors seeking to obtain contracts with BISD and Rio Hondo ISD. The contracts would provide various goods and services to the school districts, including computer tablets, medical teleconferencing services and tutorial services...Atkinson allegedly solicited and received a $10,000 bribe from an undercover agent related to a film crew's potential use of BISD facilities for filming a purported Hollywood movie."
This would be bad enough, but Brownsville being Brownsville, there's always a political angle to most everything. Along the way, Atkinson rubbed several people the wrong way. One of those was the above-mentioned ex-BISD trustee Castro, who despite the DWI charge and resignation, is listed on the November general election ballot as a Republican in the general election in November against Democratic District 38 State Rep. Eddie Lucio III.
Castro has not only made noises that he might file to run for Atkinson's position on the BISD if she is removed, but has also pushed his religious-school buddy Jorge Luis Sifuentes to file against TSC chair Adela Garza for Place 1 on the TSC election which was moved from May to November as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Why against Garza? Castro considers Atkinson and Garza allies dating back to the days of their tenure at Los Fresnos ISD, one as an administrator and the latter as a board member.
Castro and Atkinson ended up butting heads on the BISD board, and he interpreted her employment at TSC as a signal of support by the TSC chair for Atkinson.
Ironically, Castro and Garza were former allies - she as a board member and he as a district resident - when both traveled to Austin to testify against the continued University of Texas-TSC "partnership" and the dissolution of the community college bill pushed by then-State Rep. Rene Oliveira and District 27 State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.
Can you hear the wheels grinding? Funny how things change, and yet seem to remain the same.
Just as the wheels of the gods grind slowly, so has the day of reckoning for Dr. Sylvia Atkinson, the Brownsville Independent School District trustee and former Texas Southmost College administrator who faces state and federal prosecutors in the respective courts.
And just as pensioners dread the end of the month, Atkinson also faces state and federal actions one day apart at the end of June.
On June 29, a visiting judge is scheduled to hear Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz's petition for removal or suspension from her position as a member of the board of BISD in the 107th District Court at 900 E. Harrison Street.
The very next day, on June 30, she will be in federal court down the street - at 600 E. Harrison - in United States of America vs. Sylvia P. Atkinson for her pre-trial conference on her trial for conspiracy and corruption. Her trial is scheduled before Federal District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. July 6.
The state's action to remove Atkinson from her position as BISD trustee is based on the pending federal charges. The DA's office successfully removed San Benito ISD board president Michael Vargas under Texas Local Government Code 87.15 after he was charged with DWI before he went to court on the charge.
Additionally, former BISD trustee Erasmo Castro - rather than go through the removal proceedings in state court - opted to resign rather than fight a similar DWI charge.On the other hand, Atkinson has, until today, chosen to contest her suspension or removal in state court and to fight the charges in federal court upon which the state removal petitions is based.
State law allows the presiding judge to remove or suspend an elected official pending the outcome of an action. Atkinson, as a condition of her bond in federal court, has been instructed not to engage in any business with the BISD and/or on behalf of BISD. She has not been allowed to attend any district function or BISD board meetings since her arrest.
At the crux of the federal government's case against Atkinson is a federal jury indictment issued December 11, 2019 charging her with one count of conspiracy, one of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and six others based on Travel Act-bribery counts.
Federal government prosecutors allege that she participated in "a long-running scheme to solicit bribes from vendors seeking to obtain contracts with BISD and Rio Hondo ISD. The contracts would provide various goods and services to the school districts, including computer tablets, medical teleconferencing services and tutorial services...Atkinson allegedly solicited and received a $10,000 bribe from an undercover agent related to a film crew's potential use of BISD facilities for filming a purported Hollywood movie."
This would be bad enough, but Brownsville being Brownsville, there's always a political angle to most everything. Along the way, Atkinson rubbed several people the wrong way. One of those was the above-mentioned ex-BISD trustee Castro, who despite the DWI charge and resignation, is listed on the November general election ballot as a Republican in the general election in November against Democratic District 38 State Rep. Eddie Lucio III.
Castro has not only made noises that he might file to run for Atkinson's position on the BISD if she is removed, but has also pushed his religious-school buddy Jorge Luis Sifuentes to file against TSC chair Adela Garza for Place 1 on the TSC election which was moved from May to November as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Why against Garza? Castro considers Atkinson and Garza allies dating back to the days of their tenure at Los Fresnos ISD, one as an administrator and the latter as a board member.
Castro and Atkinson ended up butting heads on the BISD board, and he interpreted her employment at TSC as a signal of support by the TSC chair for Atkinson.
Ironically, Castro and Garza were former allies - she as a board member and he as a district resident - when both traveled to Austin to testify against the continued University of Texas-TSC "partnership" and the dissolution of the community college bill pushed by then-State Rep. Rene Oliveira and District 27 State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.
Can you hear the wheels grinding? Funny how things change, and yet seem to remain the same.