MERCEDES — An effort to terminate two school district contracts ultimately fell short this week, although it did result in some heated discussion and a request to solicit requests for qualifications for tax attorney services.
Trustees Oscar Hernandez and Pete Martinez III requested the board consider axing the two contracts, one with MLG Security and another with Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins and Mott LLP, an Austin-based government collections law firm.
In part, Hernandez argued that the board’s new trustees should be given a chance to take part in the tax attorney’s selection.
“And you know what, we’re in the business of education, why not give the three board members an opportunity to educate themselves so they can see that wonderful process where transparency is being exposed,” he said during the Tuesday meeting. “That there’s no hidden agendas; we’re not doing favoritism to vendors.”
Hernandez also said a dose of capitalism would do the district well.
“What do we have? We have competition,” he said. “We have the opportunity to see the free market work. I mean, for goodness sake, we’re not communists. That’s a joke, guys.”
Martinez, on the other hand, said he was concerned about the contract because he asked for a list of vendor contracts from Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola that included starting and ending dates when he was first elected, a list he says he never received. He said that he’s been blindsided by contract expirations.
“Because right now I don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “I do not feel comfortable in making a decision because I do not have everything brought to me. I feel — because you didn’t tell me about this — I feel that you’re holding back. You’re not telling me something, or you’re not giving me all of the information, and that really, really bothers me.”
Hernandez called it an “outrage” that Martinez hadn’t received that list.
Noting that she may not have understood that request, Mendiola defended herself, saying that she asked for copies of contracts in mid-March and that those documents were supposed to be delivered to Martinez a couple of weeks ago.
“As soon as the copies were all given to me and everything was verified we sent those to you,” she said.
For future requests, Mendiola requested trustees submit a timeline and specify what they were asking for in writing.
“This way there’s no misunderstanding or miscommunication as to what is being asked for,” she said.
Trustees debated for a time the efficacy of the firm and board’s role in district contracts, sometimes speaking over each other and raising their voices.
Only Martinez and Lucy Delgado voted for terminating the firm. Eddie Howell Jr. abstained and the rest of the trustees voted against termination, including Martinez, who requested it be put on the agenda.
“I guess I was thrown a little bit on this agenda item only because I hadn’t heard from any of us, no one had ever mentioned, not one person had ever mentioned we should look or go out for bids at any point,” Board President Rachel Treviño said. “On the contrary, everything that we ever talked about was positive, so I think we all just assumed that they were doing fine.”
There was one point of consensus on the topic — a desire for more information.
“I do feel like we do need to learn more,” Delgado said.
A majority did, however, OK soliciting requests for qualifications for tax attorney services.
Discussion on the district’s contract with MLG was shorter and less heated.
“Again, I think we should let the vendors present, and uh, (then) the wishes of the board,” Hernandez said. “Again, let the free market reign. And remember the joke I just said, we’re not communists.”
The board voted against both terminating the contract and soliciting requests for proposals after Mendiola said she’d received no complaints about MLG and expressed concern over the timing of the proposed change.
“If we could wait until the summer that would be ideal. We have activities going on, we have a lot of students coming in face to face,” she said. “We expect more these last six weeks of school. Graduation, senior activities, athletic events are still going on.”
