COACH JOE DEFENDS HIS RECORD OF SERVICE AT BISD TRUSTEE CANDIDATE FORUM

BISD Trustee Joe Rodriguez

Octogenarian BISD trustee Joe Rodriguez is, among current trustee candidates, the one most closely identified with the current state of the school district. 

Repeatedly, during Wednesday's B.E.S.T. campaign forum at the public library, Rodriguez stated that the school sytem was better off financially, security-wise and educationally than ever before.

"We've never had scores this high," stated Coach Joe.

On issues like the $1.4 million scoreboard and expensive turf for the football field, issues where Rodriguez and Superintendent Zendejas seemed locked into one vendor, Rodriguez got feisty, even pounding the table with his water bottle:  

"The scoreboard will pay for itself in four years, but I guess that's not good enough.

And, you want these kids to play football without turf?  Without turf, they'd be playing football on bare ground.  Football and sports keeps kids in school."

On his own tenure as trustee:  

"I'm proud of my service.  People don't see us staying till 2 or 2:30 in the morning at meetings.  

On why BISD is losing hundreds of students annually to charter schools, Rodriguez blamed the current Secretary of Education, without naming Secretary DeVos:

"Everyone knows the president appointed someone who favors charter schools.  

We have 7000 employees, half of them cleaning up schools or in maintenance."

With respect to Brownsville teachers being charged a monthly premium for insurance, Rodriguez stated:

"Do you realize every year we have to add $10-14 million to the budget for insurance?  It's about balancing the budget.

What company would keep 200 over staff?  It's very sad to have to answer these things."

Perhaps Rodriguez's oddest response had to do with the hiring of 21 security officers for BISD and what would be needed to retain them:

"I have a connection to Santa Fe, New Mexico and the 8 killed there in a shooting.  I let Jim Kilroy and his wife stay in my house 30 days while they looked for his son, Mark Kilroy.  Mark was found cut into many pieces in Matamoros."