Board officers treated by vendor rep seeking contracts

Trustees deny talking shop at the dinner table

By AARON NELSEN

The Brownsville Herald

December 10, 2006 On a recent Wednesday evening, an architectural firm seeking business with the school district treated four school board officers to a meal at La Pampa restaurant.

Board president Enrique Escobedo acknowledged the dinner took place at the upscale steakhouse on Nov. 29 but denied having discussed school business, which could violate the states Open Meetings Act.

Its not uncommon for a company to treat a board member, Escobedo said. But, we did not discuss business.

Escobedo, Vice President Herman Otis Powers Jr., board secretary Susan Galvan and assistant secretary Pat Lehmann attended the dinner. Four of seven board members constitute a quorum of the board.

A public notice was not posted that Brownsville Independent School District trustees whose vote could potentially decide how the systems money is spent would meet with a potential vendor at La Pampa Argentinean Steakhouse, where entrees range from $15 to $50.

The government code regarding open meetings states that deliberation between a quorum of a governmental body and another person during which public business is discussed or considered is a violation of the law and could result in legal action, according to the Texas Open Meetings Act. However, no violation is committed if the gathering is social in nature, unrelated to public business and no discussion or formal action is taken.

Violations of the act are misdemeanors and can carry jail sentences between one month and six months.

Arthur C. Reyna Jr., a former Democratic state representative and now a lobbyist for a variety of companies, picked up the check for the group.

Reyna was in town representing Vitetta, an architectural firm that specializes in school design.

Alan P. Hoffmann, president of Vitetta, a company thats been involved in more than 500 school design projects around the country worth more than $1 billion in total construction, said Reyna was in Brownsville specifically for business purposes.

(Reyna) is in charge of business development for us, Hoffmann said. He was there to try to get us to at least be considered (for projects).

In May, voters approved $135 million in bonds for construction of four new schools, including a high school, middle school and two elementary schools. The Brownsville school board will likely approve millions in construction projects in the coming months.

Land for at least three of those schools has already been purchased, and the district is in the process of rating prospective architectural and engineering firms for the projects.

Even if the meeting at La Pampa was not meant for business discussions, it could be viewed as having the appearance of impropriety and will undoubtedly raise suspicion, said Richard Burst, counsel for the Cameron County Commissioners Court.

They can meet as long as they arent discussing school business, but I frankly discourage the practice for the Commissioners Court, Burst said. Now, if they did meet and there was a vendor present, it makes it harder to believe (that they didnt discuss school business).

Tom Smitty Smith, executive director of Public Citizen Texas, a nonprofit public advocacy group, called the dinner potentially damaging to the bidding process, adding that such gatherings are not easily undone.

Years and years of abuse have shown why we need to keep these meetings open to public scrutiny, Smith said. Typically, there would have to be some type of revisiting of the whole process to make sure everybody has equal opportunity to represent their company.

Escobedo said that Reyna contacted him to set up the dinner but later had difficulty recalling Reynas name or who he represented.

Lehmann was recently named chair of the boards facilities committee, with Escobedo and Powers as members. The facilities committee oversees upgrades and repairs of existing properties as well as direction of new facilities.

Im not going to deny the fact that I was there, Lehmann said. We get asked to go out. That is part of our position.

Vitetta has never done work for BISD, but Reyna has been to the Rio Grande Valley many times before, he said.

Reyna is currently a lobbyist for a variety of San Antonio-based businesses, including Almori Investments, Bexar County Sheriffs Deputies Law, Decision Nexus Inc., DuMont Inc., MURO HealthCare Management Inc., NIPE Properties Inc., Q Pharmacy Inc. and SALUD HealthCare Services Inc., according to the Texas Ethics Commission.

He also represents Vitetta, with offices in San Antonio and headquarters in Philadelphia. In 2006, Vitetta paid Reyna between $25,000 and $49,999 for his services, according to the Texas Ethics Commission.

Everywhere I go, I go to talk about schools or school construction, Reyna said. Yeah, I bought the meal but nothing inappropriate.

Reyna was also vague on the details of his trip to Brownsville and what was discussed. He was certain, however, that no formal meeting took place.

School board member Ruben Cortez Jr., who was not invited to the meal at La Pampa, said he was unaware that the dinner took place. If school business had been discussed, there should be an investigation, he said.

I dont think as a Brownsville trustee you should be meeting with any vendor at all, even if its just a social visit, Cortez said. As a trustee, youre held to a higher standard, and this poses very serious questions. At the end of the day, the people who lose are the children.

anelsen@brownsvilleherald.com