Former BISD Board of Trustees Vice President Sylvia P. Atkinson is appealing her conviction on bribery charges.
Attorney’s representing Atkinson filed the notice of appeal on Wednesday with U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.’s court.
Rodriguez on May 26 sentenced Atkinson to 80 months in federal prison. In November, a federal jury found her guilty on eight counts of bribery.
Atkinson is scheduled surrender herself to U.S. Marshals on Friday.
The eight counts of bribery Atkinson was found guilty of are in connection with a movie project that was in the exploratory stages in February 2019 when she was vice president of the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees. The case began that December when a federal grand jury indicted her on bribery charges surrounding the purported movie project and a Feb. 12, 2019 board meeting.
She remains free on a $50,000 bond.
