Rio Hondo ISD candidates (from left) Josephat “Hoss” Lozano, Michael “Mike” St. John, Santiago “Jim” Saldana, and Thelma Flores are shown at Thursday night’s San Benito News “Meet the Candidates” Community Forum, where citizens such as Maria Bravo posed questions to the political hopefuls. (Photos by Vince Galvan)
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
Candidates for the Rio Hondo ISD School Board addressed a crowd of over 35 citizens Thursday for the San Benito News “Meet the Candidates” Community Forum.
The event was co-sponsored by the Rio Hondo Pony League and held inside the Deep River Family Bar and Grill, located on FM 106 in Rio Hondo.
Place 1 challenger Michael “Mike” St. John, Pl. 5 challenger Santiago (Jim) Saldana, Jr., Pl. 6 challenger Thelma Flores, and Pl. 7 challenger Hoss Lozano all made appearances at the forum. Incumbents Tomas Gomez and Tom Wiesman cited prior engagements for not attending, Manuel Flores was not available due to health issues, and Noe Alaniz did not return phone calls requesting confirmation of attendance.
“I think Rio Hondo needs to change, we need people thinking about every type of person,” said Flores while introducing herself. “We need everyone treated equally. I’ve always been a defender of the unjust, and tried to protect the innocent. Anyone who knows me knows that’s the way I am.”
When asked about what they believe to be the biggest problems facing the district, all of the candidates differed in their opinions from security, to the quality of teachers being hired by the district as well as budgeting and expenditures.
“I’ve been clamoring for the longest time about security at the district,” said St. John. “Things I see for the future, certainly the financing of our schools have become increasingly more important over time.”
“Rio Hondo used to be one of the greatest schools in the valley, if not the greatest in the valley,” said Saldaña. “I think the school is lacking hiring qualified people. No longer can kids drop out and pick cotton or vegetables. We don’t have those opportunities anymore. We need to start having qualified people teach our kids. I feel like in Rio Hondo it doesn’t matter what you know, it’s who you know.”
One of the questions asked to the candidates was whether or not they believed teachers should receive incentive pay based on student performances, to which St. John replied, “I’m not in favor of incentive pay. I am so adamantly against the TAKS and the future STAAR test because it makes teachers stop teaching. These tests have a little bit of accountability. Let’s go back, we can start by eliminating any future tests. Let’s get into the business of helping our teachers be the best possible.”
“The great teacher will continue to teach regardless of the incentive pay,” said Lozano. “I would like to see redistribution of some of those funds. Let’s tie student performance to the superintendent’s contract. We never do that. Accountability needs to start at the very top.”
On what positions candidates considered expendable should the state proceed with massive cuts to local districts as a result of a multi-billion dollar deficit, most of the political hopefuls said they’d do all they could to prevent as much from occurring. However, St. John said if such a worst-case scenario were to occur he wouldn’t hesitate to “start with the administrators” in cutting their pay.
At the end of the forum, Rio Hondo citizens were encouraged to ask the candidates questions. Among them was 22-year-old Ricardo Tomas Cortez, who asked the hopefuls what they plan to do about bullying in schools.
He specifically mentioned an incident in which a teacher allegedly hit a student in Rio Hondo. Cortez also claimed that even after reporting the incident to the administration, nothing was done and the teacher continued to teach at the school.
“I would have surely called the police right away,” said St. John. “We don’t hit our students. They are outstanding people all the way around.”
Three other citizens, namely Alicia Flores, Ofelia Peña, and Maria Bravo all shared personal accounts of bullying allegedly occurring at Rio Hondo schools and in which members of their family were targeted.
The issue was of such significance to the audience that all those in attendance asked for the forum to continue to hear from the candidates on the matter. St. John said in many cases authorities should get involved and called on teachers and staff to make such calls, Lozano stressed promoting more peaceful means by “not hating each other” or “showing hate,” while Flores cited such incidents as cause for her running for public office and Saldaña urged that parents become more aware of what goes on in the classroom.
The San Benito News will next host a “Meet the Candidates” Community Forum for the San Benito CISD candidates on Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. inside the John F. Barron Administration Building. As of presstime, only incumbent Oscar Medrano has confirmed his attendance of six hopefuls involved in three active races.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the April 17 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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