San Benito CISD Board President Yliana G. Rodriguez speaks with fellow trustee June Aguilera at Monday’s meeting while Superintendent Antonio G. Limon looks on. (Photo by Joe Bocanegra)
By JOE BOCANEGRA
Special to the NEWS
During a special meeting held to a packed house on Memorial Day, the San Benito CISD Board of Trustees took no action to reprimand Superintendent of Schools Antonio G. Limón.
The board did, however, approve an audit of the district’s finances and the termination of legal services of Gus Acevedo, the attorney currently representing the district, by providing a 30-day termination notice. Both items were approved with a 5-2 vote as Board President Yliana G. Rodriguez and trustees Anna Cruz, Fatima Huerta, Julian Huerta and June Aguilera voted for the audit and Acevedo’s termination while fellow board members Oscar Medrano and Hector Leal voted against.
The item pertaining to proposed policy revisions to DC (Local), DCD (Local), and DK (Local), which would have reduced the superintendent’s powers to hire and fire employees, was tabled.
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I have been hinting for the News to uncover this “morrillo” type news story but nothing has come up. I hope they dont want to keep it out of the news. Of course it would have to be proven but just like it was with morrillo, should be same with this one. And the board member who made a big deal out of the last case should have the same zeal to oust this employee as well. But dont expect this person to act the same way. Hippocrite. The opposition did not make it a campaign issue because it would be mud slinging. but if it was the other way around…
I already checked out the new website for Citizens for a Better San Benito http://www.sanbenitovoice.org.
I don’t think it’s a joke. I actually think it’s pretty cool! In my opinion, it’s about time that we have a website that will bring to light everything going on with our school board and city. Plus it allows our citizens to express themselves by blogging their opinions. And good for Dr. Smetter for starting this new site. Why should this make a sore loser? She is simply expressing her freedom of speech wich in my opinion she has every right to do.
By the way!! The Haha!! Was to “MY VOICE”
Haha!!!! Very obvious who you are….. The reason nothing was ever done was because you and your other friend never had prove of your accusation. Plus, the way it look like you are the “HATER”. You where going around cry wolf to every one including the New Board Members…AND?? your still in the same boat. The SB “Chief Of Police” and the Two secretary that you and your friends Hate so much are Buddies with two of the new Board Members. As a matter of Fact the sister of two board member(Huerta) was at the Monday “Special Board meeting” laughing together like Best Buddies….So, Haha!!! what they promise you that they where going to fire all three??(Lol!!) You are probably in the same position you where back then. And about doing a Background check well they should start with the Father of the Board Members President Dad.(Oh!! wait they have and Guess What? They just covered it up.)Haha!!
BELOW IS THE ROLE OF THE BOARD. YLIANA RODRIGUEZ AND THE NEW BARRIO BOARD ARE MICROMANAGING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT!!!
Role of the Board—-
School boards and superintendents work as a team. In San Benito CISD, the Board of Trustees sets the exemplary standards that best serve the interests of the children and patrons of the district. Working together, each has its own responsibilities: the board set policies and priorities and the superintendent and his staff carry out those policies.
San Benito CISD voters elect board members to serve three-year staggered terms ensuring that board membership includes experienced members. Service on the board is voluntary and members must complete extensive orientation as well as continued training through out their terms. San Benito CISD trustees earn the number of state required hours of training year after year.
The Board of Trustees has the executive power and duty to govern and oversee the management of SBCISD. Acting as a collective body, the Board sets the direction for the school district. Some of the Board’s general responsibilities include: Govern and oversee the management of the district. Setting district policies and supporting administrators and teachers in the execution of those policies. Employing and evaluating the superintendent. Adopting the annual budget. Levying/collecting taxes and issuing bonds.Performing specific duties imposed by the state. Publish an annual report describing the District’s educational performance including performance objectives and the progress of each campus toward those objectives.
The past school board built a new stadium, installed artificial grass, built a new ag farm, 2 new elementary schools, a middle school and more. Sound familiar, if you read the harlingen star, that is exactly what they are doing there right now. Our past board had the foresight to get this done before a district almost 3 times our size and within our budget. And folks with bad backgrounds, how about manslaughter. GUess whose dad that is allegedly but if it is true… And to speak so bad about Morrillo, that is hipocritical. Nothing is lower class than shouting down someone who has the floor,. It is ok to disagree but it is low class to not allow someone who is speaking to not have his say. UnAmerican and third world. You may as well be from Iran and throw shoes, If the president condones it, that is what she is too.
My Voice, How are we haters? Just because we state the facts and share our opinions about the wrong things that Rodriguez and her puupets have done, we are haters? Isn’t this a country where we have the right to express ourselves and be heard? I keep reading comments from people like you that continue to say, “they cover up the corruption, sweep it under the rug,” well “my voice” if what you say is true then why don’t you share all those corrupt things that the previous board did?? In fact, why didn’t you rise up with the rest of your people to fight against all this supposed corruption and wrong doing?? Why didn’t you and YOUR people speak up and comment then?? I’ll tell you why you didn’t because there was no corruption to comment on; there was no illegal activity to report to TEA or other state agencies!! I personally know the security officer that you are referring to in your comment and want to make this clear to you and share the REAL FACTS, Medrano never told this individual anything about what they should do involving that personal matter. In addition, how would that make Medrano a corrupt individual? I don’t understand how Medrano “advising” a friend to not go through with “something” so that it doesn’t make “who” look bad, a corrupt individual? My Voice you may want to check your sentences to make sure they are well organized and make sense. LOL!! Who is “Sloppy Joe”?? If you are talking about Joe G. Gonzales, then you are just plain rude and obviously unprofessional! If you want to look at board members and their familes employment then why don’t you make mention of Yliana Rodriguez father who works with maintenance and her mother who works with food service as a cafeteria server?? Also, if you are going to accuse Mr. Medrano about living in Brownsville then I challenge you to this…PROVE IT!! Call and report him as not living here in San Benito!! 🙂 You won’t do it and let me tell you why, because you know that he lives in San Benito and therefore you would be lying to the Secretary of State office and then would have to answer for your accusation!! Am I right?? Of course I am!! Again, I challenge you to come forward “My Voice” and please make known to the great Reseca City of all those things that are talked about in bars and are considered hear say, made up stories, intersting ones too, especially if your drunk. Come forward and bring to light all those people working in the district with bad backgrounds! Question? By bad backgrounds do you mean that they have criminal records? Would Involuntary Manslaughter while driving intoxicated be a bad background?? Hmmmmm!! Good Point!! and if the board knew about it and just covered it up then what should the citizens of San Benito do to fix it?? That is if you are able to prove all your accusations which I doubt YOU CAN!! Good Luck!! Don’t be a stranger!!
The way I see it is that President Yliana Rodriguez needs to give all the taxpayers an explanation as to what was her relationship was with Robert Champion and the Salazar Insurance Group. If she didn’t do nothing illegal, then there shouldn’t be a problem. Have there been any results to the investigation Mr. Medrano requested? I for one am looking forward on seeing what the investigation concluded and what it found. As for the garbage MY VOICE is saying, it is obvious that this writer has nothing else to do than to slander Mr. Medrano. To even go as far as saying he lives in Brownsville? Common on? Read his profile on the district web page and you’ll find out the man lives in San Benito and works in Brownsville. Seems to me MY VOICE is trying to deviate from the reality that this current president is innadequate and incompetent to hold the title as board trustee or president of this board. She is an embarassment to our entire community. So please MY VOICE, don’t blame us for Yliana’s mistakes! As for what time anyone is out at night, who cares! We have all been out late at night. What a dumb comment. I am sure MY VOICE has never been out late at night. Yeah right!
“http://sanbenitovoice.org” is a joke
Most of the replies on the website are bashing the newly ELECTED Board and the website is registered to Wilma Jo Smetter. Can you say sore loser.
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/sanbenitovoice.org
This website gives information on who registers domain names check it out!
Can you say TAX-PAYING CITIZEN WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD? At least she doesn’t HIDE behind a fake name. If she wanted to hide she would have created an in searchable site. Instead, she is standing up for what she believes is right. Unlike Yliana ‘NO COMMENT’ Rodriguez who screws up and hides, while allowing others to take the heat for her.
All you writing all this about Mrs. Rodriguez are all “HATERS ” if you would all stop and go back to all of the past Board Members and point out what did they ever do for the district.. All would cover up all of there corruption.Everything was swept under the rug..Medrano is one of them ,,what did he do when his friend who worked as a security officer who filed against he boss on a ….well personal thing didn’t he ask him not to go forward with it ? Because it would make him look bad …. Sloppy Joe… didnt he put his son to work as a police officer with the district. and all of his family as well.Medrano lives in Brownsvill and does favors so he don’t have to go to jail after been found in an ally.at 3am. Oh but if it were someone else all of you would be talking and using it against them.Just go by in the Gas Station Bar or the Hollwood Bar or where ever you see SLOPPY Joe and you will hear all he has to say There is lots of people working in this district that have BAD BACKGROUNDS and they knew about it they just covered it .
@My Voice,
First of all, if you’re going to throw around your “facts”, at least get the whole story in and not just what you want people to hear. Mr. Gonzalez’s son was not initially a police officer with the district. He, like many of us, began working for the district at the very bottom, in a non-professional job. Yes, he is now an officer for the school district, but it did not just happen overnight. He is a great officer, who is experienced and doesn’t throw around his authority, like some officers do. Before you go around stating your “facts”, you should do a little research. Did you know that Mr. Gonzalez’s son, Adrian, has answered more calls than any other school officer in the district? You should be grateful to have an officer like Adrian, who will not hesitate to go into ANY type of situation in order to keep your child safe. Also, who are “all his family”? Are you talking about his other son? The Veteran that served this country, OUR country, in the Air Force and is qualified to work where he does? That one? What is it EXACTLY that is being “swept under the rug”? Where is the corruption in the district hiring a qualified individual for a non-professional position? SBCISD is the city’s BIGGEST employer. This means that A LOT of people working for the district are related to each other and A LOT of people working for the district know or are related to a school board member. The Huertas, Mr. Leal, The President ALL have family members and friends working for the district. Are we screaming CORRUPTION for that?! Of course not! Because it’s NOT corruption! Believe me, I’m sure the Rodriguez, Huerta, Cruz clan will be asking Mr. Limon to hire some of THEIR other buddies or relatives soon. If they’re qualified or are the best for the job, why not?!
Also, what Mr. Gonzalez does on his personal time is none of your business, but if you MUST run your mouth, at least don’t forget to mention that he is a DJ and is usually WORKING! BTW…What are YOU doing at The Gas Station or The Hollywood? If you REALLY think there is something wrong with hanging out with friends at a bar or WORKING at a bar, then what are YOU doing there? Oh, and isn’t the owner of The Hollywood an ex-board member AND a HUGE fan of the Joe D Group? So, what’s the problem?
Another thing, Mr. Medrano DOES NOT live in Brownsville!!! Gosh! Do you share his pillow that you know FOR A FACT that he lives in Brownsville? Get over it! The problem is that you people don’t like when people speak up and HAVE A VOICE!
We are not “haters”, as you say. We are concerned citizens who are pointing out the REAL CORRUPTION. In the last couple of weeks, the board president has carelessly signed a letter that terminated the school insurance agency- placing us, the employees, in jeopardy of losing our insurance benefits. TEA flat out said that she could not do that! CORRUPTION! Oh, but she didn’t stop there. She continued by calling a “special” meeting to reprimand the Superintendent FOR NOT STOPPING HER FROM SIGNING THE INSURANCE LETTER! Seriously?! She did all of this BEHIND his back, without his knowledge. Instead of fessing up and admitting that she had committed a HUGE mistake, she turns and points fingers! On top of that, she wanted to strip the Superintendent of his duties. Again, TEA said it could not be done and was against Texas Education Code. CORRUPTION! Oh, and did you hear about the heated conversation she and Mrs. Cruz had about choosing the next attorney? Lol! Ladies, ladies, ladies…smh…there can only be ONE Queen Bee, and you all need to decide who it’s gonna be. I say, reorganize the board. Heck, put Mrs. Cruz as President. She seems to have more of an independent voice. Unlike Yliana, who listens to the Joe D Group.
The REAL CORRUPTION is unfolding with this NEW board. Maybe the newly elected are just following Yliana’s lead, but they need to focus and do what’s right for the children and employees of this district. This board president is on a POWER-TRIP, and she is going to bring the district down with her. Eventually, we will have TEA breathing down our necks, all thanks to the careless president who decided to act before thinking.
My question to you is, what corruption are you talking about? Can you be more specific? I’m sure you can’t. There was absolutely NO corruption during the tenure of the previous board.
I have been searching for a way to have My Voice heard and I found it at http://sanbenitovoice.org
@ Eliah dont be mad because these new people are trying to dig down to see all the stupid corruption our school district has.Ya Leal and Medrano may have yrs of experience as you put it but also the way your running your mouth about Mr. Gonzalez and his son being in jail. Remember his son is a grown man that can handle his own he doesnt involve his father or his positin with the city of sb. now can Medrano? exactly my point exactly your bring someones family into it that has nothing to do with his position and on the other hand you have one thats doing the illegal stuff personally and FYI dont always believe what you heard because people like you are the reason ugly rumors get started
We’ve only had these new board members for a week and they are making screw up after screw up!! TEA needs to come in a straighten them up! And they all seem to march like little soilders around the Rodriguez lady and Jesus Aguilera the crazy t-shirt guy. lol It was cool to see Leal and Medrano setting their foot down. Don’t the rookies realize that Leal and Medrano are the only ones with experience? Hello!! I also heard that Jesus Aguilera and city commissioner Tony Gonzales and thier kronies were booing and heckling Medrano. Don’t these people have any manners?? And what the heck is Tony Gonzales so involved in school issues? Instead, he should be more concerned about the city and his son who is in jail for illegal dealings with the drug cartels. Hello!! And will someone please tell these people how to dress! My god!! Will someone please advise them that you don’t wear a t-shirt and jeans to the meetings! Common sense people!! Today, I heard the president wore jeans and a polo shirt to the awards assembly at the high school. Que verguenza!! Hello!! If this goes on I will be calling the tv-show “What Not To Wear”!!! This is a BARRIO BOARD for sure! lmao!!!!
I guess we know whose side that minnie mouse is on….lol she doesnt even use her real name !
Will someone PLEASE forward the following information to our board president and the rest of her gang?! I think they forgot to read this…
http://board.sbcisd.net/2011/07/code-of-ethics/
To Lali:
Excellent information! Let us see if they read it.
Susie,
Maybe I should not have posted the code…they might want to change that too!!!
By the way San Benito News you need to renew or upgrad your Word Press Plug in. I keep getting an error telling me I have alread said something when I know I have not.
If we kept Gus Acevedo (Lawyer they just fired) so that we don’t pay over $20,000.00 in one month just to have 2 lawyers and skipped the emergency audit well just a few more hundred dollars we could hire another Teacher. One month of 2 lawyers we can bring on an Instructional Technologist to assist the 2 that we now have for just about a whole school year(We had 5 last year thanks to a grant and they assist teachers and staff with training on technology in the classroom). We can always just hire another security gaurd or buy IPADS for a whole Classroom. Remember I’m only talking about the money for the 2 Lawyers this month not the money the Audit will cost us. So you tell me that they are here for the kids?
So apparently there was nothing they could do to reprimand the Superintendent after all like they hoped. They did however decide that they are better qualified to hire and fire District Employees such as teachers, asst principals, Principals and Department heads. Otherwise it’s just a way to be able to get rid of who they want and put who they want in their place. Which could it be. I am glad we are doing another audit on top of the yearly audit TEA does. We need to spend money on that right now! Not wait till the next yearly audit cause we have plenty of money for it. Yes we do cause we have to pay the Lawyer we just fired and the temp that we have till they decide who they wanna put to make $10,000.00 a month. Yes I own my house so I pay school taxes so this matters to me!!
Stripping the Supt of his firing/hiring duties is precisely what Oscar’s faction did back then to the former Supt Joe Gonzalez…food for thought…
Looks like there may be a flag here for delay of game. Will Sparky,it maybe another trick play in the works since the last reverse play did not quite fully develope. Boy Sparky that one player really got the wind knocked out of him being blocked on his blind side while ruuning across the field after the ball carrier on that last play.