OTIS TAKES A HIT; SIDES LINE UP WITH BISD'S "TEAM OF FIVE"

By Juan Montoya
Brownsville Independent School District trustee Otis Powers showed his true colors Tuesday when he told those opposing his motion to appoint Edinburg attorney Gus Acevedo as the district's interim legal counsel that there was "a new majority" on the board.
Powers, who had campaigned on the slogan of a "team of eight" consisting of the seven board members and Superintendent Carl Montoya, nonetheless showed that his past 12 years as a trustee were well spent learning the art of horse trading.
After he was rebuffed by the other trustees on hiring Acevedo, he then mentioned rehiring Walsh-Anderson which drew comments of disbelief from others on the board and in the audience.
That firm was BISD legal counsel when the district was sued and had to settle with former Special Needs Director Art Rendon, the former Superintendent Hector Gonzales and former CFO Tony Juarez. All three are now back at the district after returning them their employment was part of their settlement packages.
When Powers could not muster a majority to hire Acevedo or to hire Waslh Anderson, he went along with the majority to retain Thompson Horton pending a new Request For Qualifications for new counsel. Yet, Otis, the quintessential horse trader, went along with  the "new majority" and voted to give Montoya a new one-year extension of his contract and a $12,000 bonus.
Waiting in the wings is the potential for a payback for Otis' wife, Sandra Powers, to get an appointment as a new assistant Athletic Director. Clueless Minerva Peña is there to look after the interests of Rachel Peña and her followers. Trustee Hector Chirinos sits on the board not to represent the interests of the district's voters, but rather to protect the position of former Asst. Superintendent Rachel Ayala's daughters and his coterie of followers at the Transportation Department. Escobedo, who had supported Acevedo for interim legal counsel, also has to look out for the interests of his brother Jaime, who is bidding for the schools' security surveillance contract.
Well, we're back to the Good Old Days, aren't we?