After spending the last two school years battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brownsville Independent School District returned to nearly normal operations in 2022.
A year ago, BISD had completed a semester of mostly in-person instruction and was headed for near-normal graduation ceremonies in June.
Then came the Uvalde school shooting in May. Over the summer the Texas Education Agency issued a series of school security directives. Today access to campuses is limited to only one entrance and everyone must wear an identification badge. School entrances are monitored for compliance to keep out intruders.
As the new school year opened in August, BISD had a scare when shots were fired on the first day of school in an incident in the parking lot of Porter Early College High School. A chase ensued onto International Boulevard. Two students and a former student were arrested.
It turned out that BISD police had fired warning shots when the students were driving recklessly in the parking lot, but the shots panicked parents.
A school security committee meeting three weeks later served as a post-mortem on the events, with parent and BISD parental involvement liaison Patricia Valenzuela bemoaning how parents had shared on social media “years-ago videos that were not even related with what was going on.”
Things settled down and it turned out to be a pretty normal return to pre-pandemic school life, so normal in fact that voters shook up the school board in the Nov. 8 elections, in keeping with historical precedent.
Former BISD trustee Carlos Elizondo defeated Drue Brown in a three-way race with Philip Cowen, also a former member, for her Place 1 seat.
Frank Ortiz, a former principal and student teacher trainer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, defeated Prisci Roca Tipton for Place 4 on the board.
For Place 2, Denise Garza retained her seat in a race with Victor Caballero, also a former principal. A recount changed the result by only one vote.
In its first meeting the new board tabled a move for a forensic audit and on a split vote defeated a move to change board attorneys.
Highlights during the year included a $4,000 across-the-board raise for teachers and other certified employees, along with a $15 minimum wage for all classified employees including bus drivers, custodians, food service workers and others.
In early November, BISD launched the Unified UIL Interscholastic Basketball League’s inaugural season, with games for disabled and non-disabled students playing together in competitive games.
The league kicked off play Nov. 14, the result of a 12-year effort by Sergio Zarate on behalf of his daughter Zariah Zarate. a disabled student at Veterans Memorial Early College High School.
A bill that came to be known as Zariah’s Law received support on both sides of the political aisle to pass during the 87th Texas Legislature. It will mean that children like Zariah will have the chance to play competitive sports, not just for the competitive aspect but also to receive the long term-benefits of coaching and being part of a team.
