Good Ol' Boys Lost the Southside Isd School Board Elections

Background information on the Good Ol' Boy system. Mr. Luna went from being a principal to being in charge of maintenance where he worked closely with Ms. Guzman, who sat on the Southside ISD School Board. When he retired; he ran for the school board where he was unseated after his first term.

The alumni running for the board Loren Brewer and Robert "Norberto" Chavez have been friends since they were in high school. Mr. Brewer is related to Mr. Luna by marriage. Mr. Chavez is related to Mr. Cannon, who also sat on the Southside ISD school board.

Loren Brewer, ran as a great family man who was appointed to the City South board, the Emergency Service District #6 board and elected to the Southside ISD board. While sitting on the aforementioned boards, according to board minutes was absent more than he was present.

While sitting on the Southside ISD school board, Mr. Brewer's actions which included not following policies and procedures as stated by law; was censured and removed as board president. Mr. Brewer, at a TSTA (teachers union) function made reference to the TASB (Teachers Association of School Boards) as dictators trying to tell board members what to do. TASB is an organization that trains and informs board members on board policies and procedure and keeps them informed on legislative information that pertains to school related issues. (www.tasb.org)

Mr. Brewer, according to court documents; did not pay over $5,000 in child support from his July 2011 divorce until his June 2012 court date and it is not known if he has paid or is paying any support for his children currently. Mr. Brewer upon employment by Halliburton had his wages garnered to pay for his child support and that employment showed that he was not living in the district, but in Alice, TX.; when he filed to run for a position on the Southside ISD school board, therefore falsifying documents.

A family member mentioned that his ex-wife allowed him to use her address so that he could run for the board", because he did not have a home in the district. Mr. Brewer owns a piece of property that has been uninhabitable for several years. And properties in Atascosa County.

Robert "Norberto" Chavez

While he is a public figure and much of his activities have been public record due to his association with Mr. Brewer, Mr. Cannon and Mr. Luna during the past two elections for the Southside school district; Mr. Chavez has run unsuccessfully for a position on the Southside ISD board. As a member of the ESD#6 board, Mr. Chavez voted to spend and bankrupt the entity, voted to shut down all three of the volunteer fire departments, which had been run by several generations of volunteers from within the district. After an ESD#6 meeting it was learned that he and his board would be filing a lawsuit against the South Bexar Fire & Rescue, which they shut down. The lawsuit would allow them to strip the fire department of its property and it's equipment. Ending a tradition of fire fighting for the Crowley Family of the Southside community.

A flyer distributed in the community showed that while Mr. Brewer was on the Southside ISD school board he petitioned for Dr. Del Barrio to be made the full time Superintendent, Mr. Chavez had begun working for Dr. Del Barrio in a cattle venture that Dr. Del Barrio was involved in.

Records located showed that Mr. Chavez does not have an understanding of how bills should be paid. In 2010, Mr. Chavez had an IRS Lien for $1308.77; in 2005 - he had a judgement against him for $21,829.75 for not paying off a loan. As a self employed individual, Mr. Chavez should have been paying taxes to the Texas Employment Commission of which he did not from 1998-2001, owing them $3888.88. In 2012, he finally received a release of lien from the IRS for $22,893.70.

Mr. Chavez brought in the race card at a function sponsored by the TSTA (teacher's union) and comments on the social media made reference to la familia and getting them all to vote. Mr. Chavez's opponent, was Ms. Salazar, who is a white female and was also the first female to serve on the board at Southside ISD as president.

The position of board trustee in a school district is in charge of dispersing millions of dollars. In less than 4 months on the Southside ISD school board, Mr. Brewer and his "team" of good ole boys proved that they do not have the taxpayers best interest nor the children's education at heart.

The facts remain; the three candidates ran together. They worked together to put Mr. Cannon, Ms. Guzman and Ms. Balderas on the school board, creating the original "team".

While Ms. Balderas claimed to the media that she was running alone. She was openly supported by this group when she was elected. Even having received campaign funds from the County Commissioner, Chico Rodriguez and the campaign support of Sylvia Mendelsohn, the board president of the ESD#6 and former campaign manager of Chico Rodriguez. Ms. Balderas was let go by the district when she failed to get her certification after more than dozens of attempts. Since the "team" took control of the Southside ISD school board, they created a position for Ms. Balderas, her husband and her son within the district.

The election of these candidates put 5 votes in the pockets of Sylvia Mendelsohn and control of the board in her hands. Mr. Luna, left the elected position just after 4 months of his term and was quickly replaced by ESD#6 board member, John Nolan Wood.

Ms. Mendelsohn made it clear that she would go after the school board with a vengeance since the school district filed a lawsuit against her and the ESD#6 for putting the children and school employees at risk without proper fire protection.

The "team" spent millions of dollars on personal use items, vehicles, etc. as well as extensive taxpayer money on the athletic program, from a new stadium to a million dollar score board that did not show up on the expenses for the district, brought to question as to how did the district pass audits when not all monies were accounted for?

The community had enough, and voted out five members of the "team" on May of 2015, they vowed to run again. Mr. Brewer and Mr. Chavez hold on to their seats until 2017.