Community stands up for Brownsville ISD superintendent

Jesus H. Chavez

After several people and groups expressed support for Brownsville ISD Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez at a meeting Tuesday, the BISD Board of Trustees took no action on an agenda item to discuss his employment.

Board member Carlos Elizondo placed the item on the agenda, with support from fellow trustee Minerva M. Pena. But when push came to shove, the six-member board decided to take the item off the agenda, resulting in no action.

Ever since former board president Erasmo Castro died in mid-February, the board has often split on key decisions, with board President Daniella Lopez Valdez, former president Jessica G. Gonzalez and Denise Garza on one side, and Elizondo, Pena and Trustee Frank Ortiz on the other.

Facing a tight time frame to hold an election for the post, the board decided to appoint a successor and must do so by Aug. 15 to avoid being out of compliance with state law and Texas Education Agency guidelines.

During the public comment portion of Tuesday night’s meeting, several members of the public, BISD employee union representatives and others expressed disbelief that the board would consider removing Chavez, and instead urged unity behind his leadership.

Brownsville businesswoman Reba Cardenas McNair, who noted that the board was to have a self evaluation later as well as discuss Chavez, chastised the board and said she hoped it would take what she said to heart.

“I would like to say how disappointed I am in the performance of the school board in having these 3-3 votes all the time. …You’re not making the community progress and the BISD progress. You’re not keeping the students at the front of your efforts. And to bring this up when you know it’s going to be a 3-3 vote is an exercise in futility,” Cardenas McNair said.

The agenda item read: “Discussion on matters related to Superintendent’s Evaluation and Employment Contract. (Board Agenda Request Carlos Elizondo/Board Support Minerva Pena)”

Brownsville businesswoman Reba Cardenas McNair speaks to the Brownsville ISD Board of Trustees during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting on April 1, 2025. (Courtesy photo)

“I like others, I’m asking you to be cooperative and work as a team. You had all of these students here earlier, all of them progressing, all of them doing good things, and yet, the behavior of your board is dysfunctional,” she said, referring to students the board recognized earlier for various achievements.

Cardenas McNair went on to say the board should have let the voters decide the fate of a possible bond issue after 100 people on the Citizens Facilities Committee found evidence across the district of deferred maintenance that needed to be done.

“Let the citizens decide if they wanted to spend $300 million on these facilities, which they all needed work … and you did not let the voters decide. That made no sense,” she said, also referring to the diminishing school populations and the fact schools will have to be closed.

“Then, putting Dr. Chavez again on the agenda. Why can you not decide that he’s really doing a good job, and you need to acknowledge it. And whatever else you need to know, you know it’s going to be a 3-3 vote,” she said.

Two BISD employee unions, Brownsville Educators Stand Together, BEST, and Texas Valley Educators Association, also spoke in support of Chavez, as did Denise Chavez, a former Rotary Club president.

Denise Chavez speaks to the Brownsville ISD Board of Trustees during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting on April 1, 2025. (Courtesy photo)

“The reason that I’m here today is because I failed to see why putting on the agenda that you need to fire the superintendent and replace him a few times during this year, and also to replace the board’s legal counsel. … I’m not sure how those things are beneficial to taxpayers, to staff or to students,” she said.

Denise Chavez then noted that the superintendent recently came out of retirement to serve BISD.

“Since then I believe that he has been very effective in his role as superintendent and has immersed himself back into this community, which is his community, his home. He is exactly what we need as a local leader. We don’t need a revolving door of out-of-town superintendents. What our district needs is continuity,” she added, saying that firing the superintendent would not be beneficial to taxpayers, BISD staff or students and she was there to stand against it.

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