A busy work schedule has kept me silent for way to long, but do not take my silence as evidence that things are quite in La Joya ISD. Quite the contrary; things have been as hot as ever. It seems since Uresti,
This post will address the Truth of the financial issues occurring at the La Joya ISD. The Truth that the people of La Joya first need to be aware of is the one that involves the fiscal irresponsibility’s of the school district. *Disclaimer* Since The Monitor updated their website, I have been unable to retrieve many of the news articles that would support my arguments. The following information was obtained courtesy of the La Joya ISD through the Open Records Act.*
A couple of months ago, The Monitor published an article that revealed Attorney Robert Jackson's outstanding $360,000/Yr salary. For those of you that may not know, Mr. Jackson was the attorney who represented Uresti,
A conversation Navarro recounted having with State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, who is campaigning for the candidates allied with Salinas, Alaniz and Garza-Uresti, bolsters what the three minority members say about the outcome being predetermine
Navarro said Flores, who called her to inquire about another voting issue, told her last week he was sure the board wouldn’t approve giving the elections to the county.
“Just by you mentioning that to me, you can probably infer that he’s talked to board members,” she said. --The Monitor
As stated by The Monitor in that article and proven through an open records request, Robert Jackson made $135,000 from July 31, 2006 through October 26, 2006 at a monthly rate of $30,000! Simple math then gives you the $360,000/yr. salary that I mentioned above, making him the highest paid school attorney in the
Oh people of La Joya, we should have seen the writing on the wall then! Robert Jackson and Filomena Leo were the forerunners for what was to become a torrent of U.S.A. & G.’s reassignments, political hiring’s and firing’s.
Next on the chopping block was Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Rebecca "Becky" Villarreal, and next up for hire was Antonio "Tony" Uresti. As I mentioned in my other post, "'Unacceptable' Actions at La Joya ISD", Tony Uresti, husband to Board Vice-President Rita Uresti, soon found himself in the Assistant Superintendent's chair despite his appalling track record as a principal. Again citing the open records as my source, his salary actually began at $81,758 due to the extraordinary leap from a poor performing middle school principal all the way up to the next in line for the superintendency-an appx. $20,000 increase. The interesting thing to note is that his salary increase did not stop there. As of December 5, 2006 (4 months after taking the job given to him by his wife) his salary was further adjusted multiple times to a total of $95,000. It seems that the new board felt that a $13,242 increase was in order since he was put under so much stress after his school was deemed unacceptable by the state and branded a PEG school. Seeing as my prediction about his promotion came trye, my future forecast for him, if they keep their majority, has him sitting in the top chair of the district: La Joya ISD Superintendent.
Another high level reassignment that I also talked about in "'Unacceptable' Actions at La Joya ISD" was that of Gerardo "Jerry" Perez. Lack of experience in their respective fields, seems to be a theme for Uresti, Salinas, Alaniz, and Gonzalez. Just as Tony Uresti had no HR experience, Jerry Perez lacks the experience in the Pupil Transportation Services field or any administrative field for that matter. His actions, as reported on KGBT Channel 4 News, give us an insight on how he conducts his job and treats his employees.
"It's a hostile environment because everybody seems to be on your back. We're driving a bus picking up some children and you see a white truck in back and they have some tablets and they're writing this or that, or they're looking to see where you're going, where you're turning, how long you're taking...He just gets a call and he just moves people around and he'll tell you, I can move anybody I want because I'm the director, said Transportation department employee Ermelinda Salinas.
This employee, Ermelinda Salinas, was later terminated (Item H, Personnel) from her job for exposing the Truth on the inner workings of the LJISD Transportation Department. Furthermore, she was denied action at last nights meeting (Item H, Personnel) in the third level of her grievance process against the district for unlawful termination. Well then, since Jerry Perez was also put under so much stress from the media coverage and angry bus drivers he too was compensated for his distress in the amount of $10,746.30. Beginning at an initial salary of $59,704.68 in September of 2006, his salary was adjusted to an amount of $70,450.98 by December 5, 2006.
And just like in the case of Robert Jackson, Jerry Perez soon found himself overloaded with a job he could not handle. So, U.S.A & G. brought in Reynaldo Contreras as a retire-rehire employee at a salary of $55,519.47 to relieve the pressure on Mr. Perez. By November of 2006, he too received a salary increase up to $59,912.01 at an increase of $4,292.54. Furthermore, the district's retire-rehire policy states that rehired personnel can only be hired in three areas: teachers, bus drivers, and principals.
Next up for hire was Sandra Ann Alaniz Villarreal, the aunt of board member John Alaniz, who was made the G/T Coordinator at a healthy salary of $70,078.58. Another example of where things go well for you when you have a relative on the school board. It would appear that these people are still living in medieval times in where the royal blood line of the monarchy rules the country.
Our next lucky person on the list that is also in the "royal bloodline" is Esmeralda Flores Anany sister to the crown: Kino Flores. The reassignment of Parental Involvement Coordinator Myrta Cardona left another position to be filled by those that are lucky enough to know, or in this case be related, to the right people. Esmer Anany held the position under M. Cardona with the title of Parental Involvement Specialist and still holds that title. This position has yet to be filled but despite the fact that she retains her title, Esmer Anany still received a salary increase of $13,141.67 to a total amount of $77,166.76. Esmer Anany is the same person that organized an appreciation lunch for parent volunteers, a school sponsored event, last week that turned into a political rally for Gonzalez and Ochoa. The guest speakers were a slew of Palmview folks that are avid supporters of the Gonzalez/Ochoa ticket: John Alaniz (well we know all about him don't we) and the man himself, Kino Flores. Also present, but not on the list, was Irene Garcia, mother-in-law, to Kino Flores and husband to Mayor of Palmview Jorge Garcia. Uninvited guests include: the Board of Trustees for LJISD (John A. was there representing the City of
Lastly, we get to a position that did not involve any reassignments but rather was created for a specific individual. As an SAP Interventionist, Oscar Salinas was receiving a salary of $25,743 and an avid supporter of the
The Truth cannot be withheld from the people despite the actions these people have taken in order to prevent this information from reaching the public. What began as a snowball with Robert Jackson, the actions of this board have led the district into an avalanche of financial woes that we may feel for years to come. Taking into account all of the salary increases, the “highly qualified” attorney’s fees, benefits, and the salaries that still have to be paid to the people reassigned, you are looking at well over $1 million dollars that has been misused by this district since the new board took office. This is not taking into account the lawsuits that the district is being slammed with for their unlawful reassignments and terminations. They may think money grows on trees but the Truth of the matter is that the money tree comes from the taxpayers of the La Joya ISD. There is only one way for you to inform our leaders that the Truth has prevailed and that is to let your voices be heard in the form of the ballot box.
8 comments:
That Anany woman has lost her marbles! Any number of parents, whether it is 1% or 100%, should be respected on their views of what is going on in the district. If she would just hold her tongue and try to follow christian morals and values that she says she does, there would be more positivity coming from her, instead of all the rhetoric of hate and anger that usually does.
Anany is just watching out for her own fat ass and trying to win her brothers approval. It's not going to happen Esmer so give it up. Debra thinks you're a fat, ugly loser who just happens to share the same parents as her beautiful husband.
11:05, I think that "hate and anger" you are reffering to is quite common in that family. Doesn't make it justifiable, but a sad reality none the less.
Greed and more greed is identified with that name as well.
Only in the valley could a school worker get away with making such a statement. She is supposed to be the professional and in turn makes a statement such as that! Why is she working there? What is her purpose? If parents,even one, don't matter to her then why is she doing a job that is one that is supposed to get parents involved? I would say she has no right to be there!
The truth is Kino despises the whole U S A team, he put them there just to use them and abuse them and get some money, and say so in the building of schools contracts. Does anybody know why is Kino paying for those huge sign by expway 83 on this area when he doesn't even represent us? Or I might be mistaken and he does represent us, but I don't think so.... I might be wrong.
By now he's probably cursing the "smart, educated" attorney I heard that he talks to him like he's trash,but I guess that what costs to get paid a thousand a day.
I am glad that I don't have to deal with these issues, though McAllen has it own. I have found that in the Valley, where we are all living in Greek-like City-States, it is amusing that we expect anything less than this kind of government when we choose candidates from any slate that bind themselves together. It is a recipe for the same homogenious abuse the system was set up to avoid and which oppressed the Hispanics of the Valley for so long.
HISPANICS HAVING TO PUT UP WITH BULLSHIT AGAIN!!
"We apologize for he foul language in the heading and We here at THE POLITICAL RING don't make it a habbit to use cus words in our blog, but it's b.s. injustice about How Hispanics are being Percieved that inferiorates us so"
My advice: Call your Congressman and complain about such b.s. being portrayed on a Public Broadcasting Channel.
The following is a clip from Today's Monitor:
Area veterans criticize omission of Hispanics from WWII documentary
Amanda Harris and Jennifer L. Berghom (Valley Freedom Newspapers)
September 21, 2007 - 11:00PM
HARLINGEN — A group of men held yellow and orange signs Friday that read, “Hispanic World War II Vets were excluded. Why?” The men also held American flags and black-and-white Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flags as they protested filmmaker Ken Burns’ documentary series, “The War,” which is scheduled to premier Sunday on Public Broadcasting Service stations across the country. “We want to make sure that the public knows — especially PBS and this affiliate here, KMBH — that we are opposed to the airing of this documentary by Ken Burns,” said M. Felix Rodriguez, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars District 18. “It’s an inaccurate portrayal of the diversity of the groups that contributed to the victory over our enemies during World War II.” Rodriguez and four other veterans, all of whom have fathers, fathers-in-law or uncles who served during World War II, stood in an empty field Friday across the street from the KMBH-TV60 building with their signs and flags. “They left us out,” veteran Maximo Belmarez said. “Mexicans played a big part of the war. It was not puros gueritos fighting.” Veteran Efrain Solis said that even though Burns added segments to his documentary featuring Latino and Native American veterans, it was only after various groups protested their initial absence. “It’s an afterthought,” Solis said. Eduardo Casas, a retired Marine and retired teacher from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district, said his biggest worry is that teachers will use the documentary as an educational tool. “That’s my concern as an educator,” Casas said. “It’s inaccurate. That’s a worry. It will give the wrong message to young students.” Casas said documentarians have a responsibility to do thorough and complete research, because documentaries are often used in classrooms. Questions to KMBH regarding the protest were directed to the e-mail account of the station’s general manager Monsignor Pedro Briseño, who did not respond as of Friday. The documentary sparked protests throughout the nation as well as threats to boycott products of the series’ sponsors. Some cartoonists even dedicated their comic strips to telling the stories of Hispanic World War II veterans, according to The Associated Press. The AP also reported that Burns and PBS reached an agreement with a Hispanic veterans group to add a segment that includes content from Native American and Latino veterans. But Rodriguez, fellow veterans and historians said that isn’t enough, calling it “a slap in the face.” “What he is saying is (Hispanic and Native American veterans) didn’t participate or contribute to the success in winning the war,” Rodriguez said. “It is an insult to me, but more of an insult to my dad.” Jennifer Mata, a history professor at the University of Texas-Pan-American, said leaving out that history could lead to issues of identity problems for younger generations because they won’t see their ancestors’ contributions. Mata and fellow UTPA history professor Amy Hay said World War II was a significant war for Hispanics as well as other minorities, because they were fighting against discrimination abroad while facing it in their own country. Trinidad Gonzales, a history instructor at South Texas College in McAllen, said he hopes more Hispanic veterans and their families will record their own histories. Gonzales said he is working with Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez — a University of Texas at Austin professor collecting oral histories of Hispanics who lived during World War II — to record the histories of veterans throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Rivas-Rodriguez also founded Defend the Honor, a campaign that criticizes what it calls Burns’ omission of Hispanic and Native American veterans from his documentary. “The bottom line is, we can’t just allow the documentary (to be) considered to be a true reflection of what was going on in World War II,” she said.
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