Three indicted PSJA leaders no-shows at board meeting

SAN JUAN — Three of the four Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district leaders indicted on conspiracy and extortion charges were not present at Thursday’s school board meeting in their official capacity.

The meeting was the board’s first since the indictment was unsealed June 5 and the allegations that they accepted bribes were made public.

Vangie Garcia-De Leon was the only indicted school board member who participated in the meeting. She abstained from a dozen votes, complying with a U.S magistrate’s order barring indicted members from voting on contracts. The votes otherwise passed unanimously.

The board also unanimously approved a measure at the start of the meeting to name Daniel P. King, the outgoing superintendent of Hidalgo schools, the interim superintendent of PSJA. Because the motion called for King to take the position “within the next 60 seconds,” King was able to participate in the duration of the meeting and lead the board through the agenda. He is set to formally become superintendent July 1.

King said no action has been taken to remove outgoing PSJA superintendent Arturo Guajardo, who is among the indicted, from his position with the school district. He said the retiring Guajardo still holds the title of superintendent, but Guajardo is taking vacation or personal leave for the remainder of the month before King takes over.

“I respect that he holds that title now, and I think the board does, too,” King said, adding that he is “basically filling in” for Guajardo.

As of press time, Guajardo did not return messages left at his home and cell phone Thursday night.

About 120 people were in the audience at the meeting, and the board heard no public comments about the indictments. Still, some parents seemed to have the issue on their minds.

Lily Almaguer, who has a child in pre-kindergarten in the PSJA district, called the news of the indictments “embarrassing.”

“I’m very disillusioned. I didn’t want my son to go to this school district,” she said after the meeting. “It’s very sad. It’s a very dismal outlook.”

Sofia Valdez, whose daughter graduated from high school in 2004, said she’s thankful for the investigation because it “confirms our worst fears and suspicions.”

Several community members in attendance declined to comment on the indictments, saying they would prefer to learn more about the case first.

Uniforms

The board also unanimously approved a motion to implement school uniforms for students at four elementary schools: Reed & Mock, Farias, Ford and Garcia. King said school uniforms typically consist of either polo shirts or T-shirts of a particular color, possibly bearing a school logo, along with blue jeans.

He said each school has set the specifics of its uniform policy, but he did not know offhand the details of what types of uniforms each of those schools would have. King said surveys of parents whose students attend those four elementary schools indicate they are in favor of uniforms

Last month, the PSJA board voted to bring uniforms to two middle schools and three elementary schools. Uniforms are helpful for schools because they allow teachers and administrators to quickly identify who their students are, which is particularly important during field trips, he said. He added that uniforms help with discipline issues by eliminating distractions.

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Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4446.