Hidalgo County Leadership?

So I was watching the news the other day and my curiosity was piqued. The news caster was reporting that the Hidalgo County Commissioners had finally gotten tired of trying to get the federal government to come in an work on our levees. Understanding the concerns since Hurricane Katrina, I was given hope again that maybe there were more then a hand full of elected officials that were doing things in the best interest of the people that elected them. Then the reporter went on... I'm not a infrastructure specialist by any means nor do I claim to know how the county works. That being said, the county commissioners decided to start working on the levees in December, too late to do anything this hurricane season but we can't expect miracles so excusable. What amazed me was that they decided to start in Mission! Like I said there may be more to it, like the need to protect some rich people's property first or something, but it just seems more logical to me to start on the East side of the county because it is closer to the coast. If the levees don't hold in Cameron County and we reinforced our levees on the east of the county, we could save the whole county. If we only get to reinforce the west side first think of all the lives and property that will be lost. Maybe someone in the commissioner's court has been speaking to God and this is what he wants them to do. I guess we should start to be worried when someone on the west side of the county starts building an arc.

Edinburg Schools Abuse the System

I recently moved to the Edinburg School District with my two children who attend Edinburg schools. I was impressed by the activity of the community in the school district, but I became disappointed because it seems that instead of activity of the community for the students, it is political activity in the interest of a few.
More specifically, I watched and asked questions when the school board made the bold move to “reassign” the Athletic Director. I figured it was because none of our teams had a winning season in a long while. I was horrified when someone vandalized a business owned by a school board member by pouring gasoline and leaving a note referring to the “reassignment”! I was starting to feel as if I had moved into a filming of Scarface: Don’t Mess with My Football Coach. In this blockbuster, Robert Alaniz is Tony Montana and the football coaches are his highly paid thugs. Before the school board was brave enough to move Mr. Alaniz and make fiscal changes, coaches were allowed to have more than two stipends. They are also paid a daily rate for extra days. In most school districts coaches are paid a fixed rate. J. M. Salinas is one of the highest paid coaches at Edinburg High School. Salinas received his regular salary plus an additional $7,200.00 as the Bobcat’s defensive coordinator. Apparently, the football season had an additional 20 days so he received an extra $5,862.00. He also received $1,900 as the intramurals coach and $2,300.00 as the off season coordinator. His stipends totaled $17,262. $72,476 total salary to be exact! Not to be outdone, J. R. Salinas at Economedes High School received four stipends totaling $21,521.00. At Edinburg North High School, Jose Gaspar received $17,163 in stipends. Harwell Middle School coach Rafael De Leon had three stipends and extra day pay totaling $11,022.00. Diana Romero of B.L. Garza Middle School (also Alaniz’ niece) had 4 stipends and extra day pay of $7,100.00. B.L. Garza Middle School coach Javier Garza had four stipends and extra day pay totaling$14,699.00.
Game playing belongs on the field not in coaches’ offices and especially not in public offices. Athletics play an important role in our community and good coaches should be well paid. However, this policy of overpayment and extra stipends is an abuse. Stop prostituting our system, our kids and our monies. By the way, stay away from my doors…I don’t really like the smell of gasoline.

Aaron Pena is a Democrat

It never seems to amaze me how people like to twist things. I've been reading the Edinburg News and I had always thought I would just read and complain but I finally had to vent in a public forum. Just because Aaron Pena voted for Tom Craddick does not make him a Republican. He did what he was elected to do, represent our area. Tom Craddick was up for the Speaker of the House again. The only other person up for the position was another republican. It doesn't seem like it was much of a choice. Vote for a republican that doesn't stand a chance and put yourself in a bad position with the person who will be making all the committee appointments or vote for the republican that is going to win and get your district some help that it needs, be appointed to some really important committees and show that you have your district's needs at the forefront of your decisions. It sounds like a no-brainer to me. Aaron Pena did the right thing and because he has the experience in Austin make intelligent decisions, he will end up helping the Edinburg/Delta Area.

Edinburg News: Carmen Gonzalez Is Trying To Change Policy

Edinburg News: Carmen Gonzalez Is Trying To Change Policy

I think this is clearly a case of not thinking before blogging. It is hard to believe that any intellgent person would think that Carmen Gonzalez has the power to arbitrarily make a change like lengthening the school board terms. If this were the case we would need to send her to Washington so she can effectively run another government, help clean up the corruption of our country and maybe end the war. I guess the key word is that an intelligent person would know that it takes someone like Rodney Ellis a Senator from Houston to pass legislation at the state level. Also, Carmen Gonzalez has twenty five years of experience with the school district. Again, someone with a mediocre education level could put two and two together to see that she was already working for the school district when this incident happen. The school district and the school board still found her the most experienced and gave her positions like Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and then the biggest test of a true leader and trust of the school board, they appointed her Interim Superintendent until they could find someone to take this responsibility on. She lead our school district well and gladly handed it over when they found a replacement. Then she stayed on and served as an Assistant to the Superintedent, by this time she was ready to retire. If you want to judge her on something, judge her on her record. The legacy she created within the Edinburg School District and the one she is creating as a School Board Member. What happened in her private life is just that...private. I don't think she's hiding anything, she shouldn't have to speak about it. Do we really want to start digging up dirty secrets? I'm sure others have more to hide. The sad thing is that you can only attack her personally because she is an outstanding professional and as far as most are concerned a pillar of the community. Maybe if you paid attention you could truly understand the writing on the wall!