A majority of trustees at McAllen ISD says steps still need to be taken to address a scandal in the district’s communications department, the details of which became public last week.
It’s not at all clear what that action would be, though one trustee is calling for the board to reopen the investigation into the situation.
Meanwhile, the McAllen Education Foundation, which is a sponsor of a charity fishing tournament referenced in complaints that sparked the entire affair, says it’s implementing changes based on those allegations.
Allegations of impropriety in the McAllen ISD marketing and communications department first came to the board’s attention in November, after two of the department’s employees filed complaints alleging inappropriate behavior and hostility. One of those complainants — former Assistant Director Felicia Villarreal — said she felt she’d been retaliated against.
The board voted to accept its law firm’s investigation into those complaints in January. Two of the communications department’s employees — Villarreal and former Director Jake Berry — left the department but remained district employees.
In February, Berry resigned after inappropriate material was discovered on a district laptop that had been assigned to him.
His secretary and the department’s other complainant, Victoria Pena, also left the district last month. Villarreal remains a district employee in the counseling department.
In February, after those personnel changes, trustees unanimously voted to rescind their acceptance of the investigation’s findings.
Four trustees on the board feel parts of the situation and what it brought to light still need to be addressed.
“I have always hoped McAllen ISD would be a workplace where employees feel comfortable and supported when they speak up against an injustice,” Trustee Danny Vela wrote in a statement to The Monitor. “Our employees deserve the right to be taken seriously when making a complaint as well as safety from unwarranted reprisal. We know for certain that the two employees who filed the complaint lied about several facts, hindering the district and the investigating attorneys’ ability to make a fair and fully educated decision.
“Not only was the district unable to make the right decision, but these lies also cost the district thousands of dollars in fees, money that could have been used for a more productive and beneficial purpose.”
When trustees voted in February to rescind accepting the investigation, they did so based on it being factually flawed based on two individuals giving false statements to attorneys.
Vela wrote that those falsehoods justify further inquiry.
“I believe that we need to reopen this case and further investigate in order to adequately understand the extent of the falsehoods and how they affected the district’s ability to come to a conclusion,” he wrote. “Over my last 16 years serving on the McAllen ISD School Board, I have strived for this district to have a culture of inclusion and safety for our students, educators and staff. However, this culture will only be achieved when everyone is willing to cultivate that environment.”
Trustee Sofia Peña told The Monitor that the whole affair is a “scandal” that has left the district with a “black eye.” She said more board discussion, potential policy review and consideration on further investigation are all warranted because of it.
“I think as a board we need to make sure that we’ve gotten every bit of information that we should have gotten,” Peña said. “And this shouldn’t have happened again — this shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but this needs to stop, and I’ve heard many in the community use the word ‘culture.’ And if there is indeed a culture, we need to make sure it stops and that it stops immediately.”
If the board becomes aware of any impropriety regarding the district’s response to allegations, Peña said, accountability is in order.
“If it’s found that anyone acted maliciously or did anything improper in the handling of these matters, then as a member of this board I’ll be the first to ask for and demand accountability,” she said. “And if that means taking any kind of action and calling for some kind of investigation or sanctions of any sort, then I would be the first to call for that.”
Trustees Debbie Crane Aliseda and Sam Saldivar were not quite as talkative about their stances on the debacle, but both say more action is required.
Crane Aliseda wrote that the board needs to ensure policies ensure a “safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace” while Trustee Sam Saldivar said he would “press for effective communication of the issues raised, an outlined plan of action and a reasonable timetable for full resolution from the superintendent.” A push for some sort of action is liable to meet resistance.
Board President Forina says he does not view further action on the situation as being necessary.
“The two main parties have left the district,” he said. “The other third party has not been affected in any way. Her pay has not been cut. The only thing that she’s got different is that she’s not in that department anymore.”
Trustee Marco Suarez also said no additional board action is necessary on what came out of the communications department and referred questions about how it’s been remedied to district attorneys.
“It’s done,” he said.
Trustees Conrado “Ito” Alvarado declined to comment, citing a potentially ongoing grievance process related to the communications department.
Forina has repeatedly said he feels the situation is politically motivated and largely overblown. He’s up for reelection in May and faces a challenger.
If Vela wants to succeed in reopening an investigation, he’ll have to do it relatively fast. He isn’t running to retain his seat and will be replaced in May.
Peña says that timeline should have no impact on the board’s decisions regarding the complaints and administration’s response.
“It needs to happen immediately. The elections should have no bearing on that,” she said.
The scandal is resulting in changes at the McAllen Education Foundation, the nonprofit who is a sponsor of the Superintendent’s “Fishing For Kids” Tournament. The district describes the nonprofit as a partner in putting on the event.
Foundation President Annie Holand Miller says no foundation volunteers participated in last year’s tournament. She notes that alleged impropriety did not take place at the actual event, and says the foundation was not formally made aware about the allegations by the district; the organization found out through the rumor mill.
Miller says in response the nonprofit will clarify its participation in events the district has utilized for fundraising that the foundation is involved in. She said the foundation has to take ownership of the events it partners with the district on, which is perhaps easier said than done.
“I think that we have to work through the logistics of what that means,” she said. “I wish the foundation had enough money to hire a staff. We don’t. And so we need some support from the district, and we have to figure out how that works.”
The foundation taking ownership of events will, Miller said, result in a branding change.
Several McAllen ISD fundraising events with the foundation involvement have a “Superintendent’s” in front of them. That will change, Miller said.
“From this point forward, if any of these events — a fishing tournament, a bowling tournament a golf tournament, a gala — if any of these events are MEF events, they should be titled MEF events; not ‘Superintendent’s,’” she said. “And then on top of that, they will be driven by McAllen Education Foundation Board members.”
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