REALTORS, TEACHERS UNION HOLD FORUMS FOR BISD CANDIDATES

From the editor:  With an obvious lack of coordination, two BISD trustee campaign forums were held in Brownsville, on the same street, on the same day, exactly one hour apart.  

All of the candidates were invited to the first forum, sponsored by the Brownsville Board of Realtors, but half had to leave, well before it was over, to attend a forum sponsored by Brownsville Educators Stand Together, a local teachers union.(The B.E.S.T. forum only dealt with candidates for places 4 and 2.)

BROWNSVILLE/S.P.I BOARD OF REALTORS FORUM

Like he has many times before, the Board of Realtor's Larry Jokl presided over the group's campaign forum Wednesday with typical sarcasm, military discipline and fairness.

"We have the best timer in the business," he joked, telling an older gentleman seated at a front table to "show them your one minute sign."

This forum, held at the realtor's headquarters on Central Boulevard, was for BISD trustee candidates.  All but one or two made it.

With half of the candidates, along with this reporter, leaving well before the event was over, our report is incomplete, but we will share some observations from our notes.

Place 4 candidate Dr. Prisci Roca-Tipton, a bit nervous as a public speaker, has an incredible resume.  Born into a shrimping family, she's worked in carpentry, fiber glass and, at the age of 18, became president of her dad's shrimping company, handling payroll and contracts.  She's spent 17 years as an educator.

Two questions were asked of all the candidates.  One question dealt with the advisability of closing older schools, the other with whether to use public or private funds for a performing arts center.

Place 2 candidate Erasmo Castro favored closing older schools "to save maintenance," also saying that BISD need to "up our game" to compete with charter schools.  

Place 2 candidate Carlos Elizondo

Carlos Elizondo, coming in late in hospital scrubs, misunderstood the question about funding for the performing arts center.

"Private is not giving us $30.000,000 to fix air conditioning," he stated.

Randy Gonzalez, place 4 candidate, recommended tearing down older properties or selling them, building new schools.  

Gonzalez said teachers should be told they're "doing a good job" to sustain morale.

Place 2 candidate Herman Otis Powers, Jr. described himself as a "numbers man," who "allows teachers to teach," complaining that charter schools have an unfair advantage being able to "pick and choose students," while BISD has to educate "everyone."

"Why can't we do the same thing?" he asked.

Drue Brown, retired as BISD Public Information Director, but, also with many years as an English teacher, described BISD, with its $500 million annual budget as the financial equivalent to a "Fortune 500" company.

Brown recommended "repurposing" older buildings as had been done "with Cummins Junior High," but doing so only with "community input."

THE B.E.S.T. CAMPAIGN FORUM AT CENTRAL LIBRARY

For over two hours candidates for BISD trustee, places 2 and 4, were asked prepared questions by moderator Daniel Perez. 

We've reported an unfortunate taint on the forum by threats issued by Herman Otis Powers, Jr. against Erasmo Castro.  

A subsequent article will deal with details from the B.E.S.T. forum.