BISD TRYING TO SHED ITS "SOFT-TOUCH" REPUTATION

By Juan Montoya
Where does the Gladys Porter Zoo turn each year for a $49,000 handout to maintain its operations and annual programs for local students?
And where does the Brownsville Historical Museum turn for a $29,000 infusion of cold hard cash to fund its operations?
Yes, it's the same place where these organizations and countless others trek each year to come away with goodies – the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees.
Now, however, these groups are finding that unlike past years, some trustees are actually asking for an accounting of where their taxpayers' donations go.
"During a meeting we had one trustee asking for more than a simple letter of acknowledgement that it was seeking or receiving a cash donation," said  BISD administration. "That was one of the reasons that the United Brownsville appeal for its annual $25,000 'membership' donation got stalled and pulled from the board's agenda."
Sources tell us that after trustees demanded specifics of what United Brownsville gave in return for giving the nonprofit cash, its director Mike Gonzalez simply directed the district to the group's website. That website speaks in generalities and lacks specifics that did not tell trustees how many jobs, placements, or higher education opportunities UB afforded BISD students through its annual outlay.
BISD CFO Smiley (Garcia) pulled the item at the last moment before the meeting because the answers did not satisfy the board.
Will  they return in the future with a better, more improved justification for the $25,000?

"The district hasn't been able to procure printer toner for all the teachers that need it to make copies for their classroom and the board is being asked to give United Brownsville $25,000 while showing very little in return," the administrator said. "It's not going over well. It'll be interesting to see how the new majority reacts to that request."