BISD ISSUES MADE CLEAR IN "SPECIAL TO EL RRUN RRUN"

From the editor:  We submit this refined ESL post to the Juan's blog about problems at BISD:



Special to El Rrun-Rrun

The message has been made abundantly clear. If you criticize (even constructively) the superintendent or administrators of the Brownsville Independent School District, pack your gear because you're headed for the gulag.

In the past, the whistle blowers would be shunted off to the Food and Nutrition Service with the so-called "Hairnet" set.

That happened to people who worked in the insurance department, the transportation department, and even the purchasing department. People with complaints bout the way their departments was being managed expect to be targeted and for their bosses to ask the administration to transfer the "trouble makers."

Remember Rosario Pena? She was director of Purchasing until she ran afoul of former BISD trustee Cesar Lopez and Superintendent Eseranza Zendejas over the a presentation by artificial-turf vendor Paragon Sports before the company had been vetted by her department. Zendejas and trustee Joe Rodriguez rammed through the Buy-Board vendor without going through the department, and when Pena voiced her concern, she joined the "hairnet" crowd pronto.

Paragon has now netted upwards of $7 million in BISD projects, but Pena remains at FNS keeping an eye on that budget.

Another example is that of Tom Chavez, a former BISD Athletic Director and head football coach at Rivera Early College High School given a cubicle office at the Brownsville Learning Academy and doing...not much. Years and years of experience in athletics and administration go wanting, and wasted. Even though he has a grievance pending, he must be satisfied to be a glorified hall monitor and gets the $100,000-plus salary to go along with it.

We are told that just as Pena and Chavez, there are numerous individuals in other departments languishing in do-nothing make-work jobs while they draw their professional salaries.

We heard of learning disabilities professional with decades of experience who is relegated to an empty office because the Special Services Interim director Adriana Lippa was tired of hearing her complaints about the level of services to these children.

The exiled instructor reported discrimination against three- to five-year-old intellectually/physically disabled students in two separate PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities) classrooms. The first group of students were being denied a FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) due to not having a certified teacher since mid-September.

As gratitude for having these deficiencies pointed out to her, Lippa directed th instructor to remain in an office with no work assignments. That was approximately four months ago.


The classroom environment was not conducive to learning. (The student’s still do not have a certified teacher, which Is against the law if the school has not notified the parents of the situation) the other classroom's restrooms Changing area was not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.

In the report, the instructor said they and reported students being screamed at and tugged on by the arm in both classrooms. The unjust, discriminatory behavior towards these intellectually disabled, non-communicative students is still occurring as they are not yet receiving a FAPE under IDEA, the instructors say.

Although the problems reported still fester, the situation remains the same. Lippa's solution to the problem - with the approval of Area Administrator Dr. Timothy Cuff - has been to retaliate against whistle blowers by stripping them of all duties and remanding them to make-work duties to keep them out of their hair in retribution.

To a trained professional with a dedication ti special students, this amounts to psychological torture Not only do they suffer isolation from their coworkers and students who need them, but they are also excluded from trainings and presentations for their professional development.

And why this punishment? Just because they advocated for the kids and attempted to remedy problems in the Lifeskills and PPCD classrooms.