Donna school board implicated in HR memo

DONNA - A series of memos written by the human resources head of the Donna school district outlines a longstanding pattern of school board members using their influence to get friends and family members jobs within the district.

Dr. Alfredo Salinas, assistant superintendent for human resources, sent the memos Tuesday to the FBI, the Texas Education Agency and Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra, according to documents leaked to the media Friday morning.

Dr. Salinas did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

Named within the memos as having coerced district staffers into how vacant and sometimes specially created jobs were to be filled are school board members George Hernandez, Eva Castillo Watts, Alfredo Lugo and Dr. Jose Sandoval.

Under Texas education law the authority for district hiring lies with the superintendent, though the school board is required to approve the superintendent’s recommendations, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Salinas wrote the memos to former superintendent Joe D. Gonzalez and interim Superintendent Cecilio Sauceda between November to 2006 and Tuesday of this week.

Castillo Watts referred all questions to school district attorneys.

“I’m not saying anything. Just call the superintendent’s office,” she said.

Hernandez, Lugo and Sandoval did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

Gonzalez was suspended by the school board earlier this week in a 4-3 vote, with all the board members named in the Salinas memo voting against the former superintendent.

While none of the board members have explained their reasons for suspending Gonzalez, the final memo written by Salinas states that district employees told him last month Gonzalez would be suspended if he didn’t go along with personnel changes endorsed by the board.