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Diana Garza urges board to fire administrator, alleges misuse of student funds
Summary
Public commenter Diana Garza accused a long-serving administrator of misappropriating thousands in student funds for gifts, parties and other personal uses and urged the board to terminate the employee rather than place them on administrative leave.
During the public-comment portion of the WESLACO ISD special meeting, Diana Garza told the board she was "beyond flabbergasted" by what she observed at the prior April 14 meeting and urged immediate accountability.
Garza, who the board introduced as the public commenter on the record, said the administrator — described in the agenda and discussion as a long-time employee with 30 years of experience — had used student funds for personal or staff-party expenses. She alleged purchases from student snack money and cash sales included gift baskets for board members, payment of a DJ for a staff Christmas party who was also a district employee, school T-shirts and candy apples. "The personal choice to be unethical warrants consequences," Garza said, urging termination rather than administrative leave.
Garza called for the district to follow recommendations of legal counsel, the auditor and the superintendent, and said the auditor position is unnecessary if the board chooses to ignore audit findings. The three-minute comment period ended with the president thanking Garza and moving on to the next agenda item. The record does not show a direct response from the board to the specific factual allegations during the public-comment time.
