SAN ANTONIO – Three of six members of the Edgewood Independent School District board of trustees resigned Friday, leaving the board without the ability to act.
“In order for our district to move forward, this is the decision we had to make,” said a tearful Tina Morales, who served as EISD secretary. Morales has served 19 years on the board during non-consecutive terms.
Morales, Velma Pena and Dr. Eddie Rodriguez met at a café on the West Side Friday morning to explain the reasoning for their resignations before turning in their letters of resignation to EISD administration.
Morales and Pena, who served as board vice president, claim they tried repeatedly to get the board to address and investigate accusations of wrongdoing within the district, which included misuse of funds and school facilities.
Both women believe their efforts led to them receiving threatening phone calls telling them to step down.
“Right before the board meeting on June 9, I started getting threatening phone calls telling me I better not show up at the board meeting because something was going to happen to me,” Pena said.
Pena filed five police reports alleging harassment and vandalism between June and November 2015.
Morales said her house was shot at in November. She believes that was the result of her work as a board member.
“I've had my house shot at and there was no warning. It was so they could hurt people,” she said. “Do anything to me, but when it comes to my children, my family, that's where it stops."
Rodriguez said the six-member board was rendered ineffective because of repeated 3 to 3 votes and an inability to select a new EISD superintendent.
The district has been without a superintendent since late August 2015.
“The district needs help and the help that we're seeking can only come if we step down,” Rodriguez said.
With three members left on the board, the Texas Education Agency could appoint a board of managers to lead the district.
“By us doing this, somebody has to come in and help,” Pena said. “Somebody has to come in and help.”
The resignations come amid an ongoing TEA investigation. However, neither the TEA or Edgewood administration are releasing information about the reason for the investigation.
Click here to read the resigning members letter to the district.
The resignations came as a surprise to EISD staff.
“The important thing to remember is that, as related to the students, the education of the students, the day that they have planned, all of that is going to continue,” said EISD public information officer, Keyhla Calderon-Lugo.
The district issued a statement Friday saying, “The execution of our daily function as a school district will not be affected and all operations and curriculum will continue. We are working with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to assure Edgewood ISD follows proper protocol and policy regarding this situation.”
KSAT 12 contacted the remaining board members for comment Friday.
LISTEN: Myra Arthur reports on the audio recordings one former board member said she received.
Mary Lou Mendoza said she was surprised by the resignations and supports dissolving the entire school board if the TEA believes it’s necessary to move the district forward.
Johnny Perez said he, too, was caught off-guard by Friday’s resignations and said the board members who stepped down “abandoned our kids, our district and our community.”
Sonia Elizondo could not be reached.
According to Rodriguez, the board was in the process of selecting a seventh member to fill a vacant seat on the board.
Two people applied, but one of the applications submitted the application past the deadline, he said.
So the board planned to interview the sole candidate at its next meeting.