ECISD Board Member Raises Conflict Of Interest Question On Edinburg North $2.1M Drainage Project
Arnoldo Mata
EDINBURG, TX – Concerns about a potential conflict of interest surfaced during Tuesday’s Edinburg CISD board meeting before trustees unanimously approved moving forward with a $2.1 million drainage improvement project at Edinburg North High School.
Board member Letty Garcia raised the issue while trustees considered awarding Competitive Sealed Proposal (CSP) 25-92, which allows the administration to negotiate a contract with the highest-ranked vendor, Synergy Development.
“Yes, it was brought to my attention,” Garcia said. “On all these vendors, I’m sure there was part of one of the forms about disclosures of any family relatives for each of these vendors?”
District staff confirmed that vendors are required to submit disclosure forms as part of the bid process.
Still, Garcia expressed concern. “It was brought to my attention that the one who was (to be) awarded the bid has a relative that works here in the school district, here in the administration,” she said. “Now, I don’t know. Legal counsel, is that something that we need to discuss in the back (executive session)?”
Edinburg CISD legal counsel Benjamin Castillo recommended handling the matter in executive session. “I think that’s a good idea, Trustee Garcia,” Castillo said. “Let’s go in the back so we could get more information with respect to that, and I could give the board legal advice with respect to any conflicts.”
Garcia emphasized her goal was to preserve trust in the process. “I don’t want it, like, out there in the community for the trust to be broken,” she said. “And any possible lawsuits with any of the other vendors. But as I was coming, I got called and they’re like, ‘Hey, this isn’t right, this and that.’ I said, all I can do is address it, inquire, and then from there, let the whole board decide.”
Following the closed-door discussion, the board returned and voted unanimously to approve authorizing the superintendent to negotiate a contract with Synergy Development, which submitted the top-ranked proposal at $2,130,699. There was no further public discussion or explanation about the question of conflict of interest.
Synergy Development, a construction and development firm, will handle the drainage improvements aimed at addressing long-standing issues at Edinburg North High School.