The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees has called a special meeting for Wednesday and posted the agenda, which calls for consideration of possible action to censure Trustee Minerva M. Pena. The issue will be discussed in executive session.
On Friday, Pena, the longest-serving BISD trustee, surrendered to Cameron County Sheriff’s deputies on a single Class C nepotism charge in a case involving employment of her daughter-in-law as a teacher at Veterans Memorial Early College High School. Her attorney Rick Zayas then posted an attorney surety bond and she was released to his custody. Her daughter-in-law has since passed away.
Wednesday’s agenda calls for “discussion and possible action to adopt” a resolution censuring Pena. The agenda item was requested by Board President Eddie Garcia with support from trustee Daniella Lopez Valdez.
The case involves allegations that Pena helped her daughter-in-law secure a teaching job at VMECHS, which would violate the state’s nepotism laws and which Pena has told The Brownsville Herald never happened.
In August the BISD Board of Trustees referred the matter to Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz.
Zayas said late Friday that Pena is accused of violating Section 573.041 of the Texas Government Code between June 8, 2021 and Aug. 6, 2021. The law states that a public official may not “appoint, confirm the appointment of, or vote for the appointment or confirmation of the appointment of an individual to a position that is to be directly or indirectly compensated from public funds or fees” if that person is related to the public official.
“Minerva Pena did not “appoint, confirm the appointment of, or vote for the appointment or confirmation of the appointment of an individual to a position that is to be directly or indirectly compensated from public funds or fees,” Zayas said.
Pena has said she had nothing to do with BISD hiring her daughter-in-law, saying that as a board member she has always left hiring decisions to Superintendent Rene Gutierrez and his administration as required by law.
The penalty for violating Section 573.041 of the Texas Government Code is a fine of not less that $100 or more than $1,000.
Pena is a retired Department of Public Safety trooper.
Other matters on the special meeting agenda include receiving a report from the district’s internal auditor relating to federal program practices and expenditures, including the district’s maintenance department.
