Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Many callers demand ouster of Saavedra, board

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Saturday, October 9, 1999

Many callers demand ouster of Saavedra, board
Another suggestion: Cut up credit cards

Resignations, better record keeping and a halt to credit card use are among the suggestions offered by readers upset by financial issues in the Corpus Christi Independent School District.
   More than 300 readers responded to the Caller-Times Sound Off question in Friday's paper. Many called for the resignations of Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra and CCISD school board members.
   A review of CCISD American Express accounts this week by the Caller-Times showed that:

From August 1993 to June 1999, Saavedra charged more than $20,000, explained either as meals with staff or board members or both on the district's American Express account.

In the same time period, Saavedra charged $15,402 on the district credit card for car maintenance. Some of the expenditures included a $199 payment to Red Carpet Car Wash, which school district officials say paid for a year's worth of car washes.

Thomas W. "Buff" Marlin, a former district employee, used his district credit card to charge more than $5,200 at The Palace, a local topless bar, during five different visits. The employee said he reimbursed the district for the charges.
   The school board on Monday will discuss accountability for board travel, the possibility of freezing spending on the credit cards and may revisit Saavedra's car allowance.
   A sampling of the responses:

   If any supervisor in any major corporation, small- or medium-sized company would have done what has been done by the administration at CCISD, as far as violation of public trust and extravagant expenses, they would have immediately been terminated.

   I'm sure over the next few days the school board of CCISD will initiate policies and guidelines which may help stem the money going out, but that is irrelevant. Whether the guidelines and policies are one page or thicker than the Library of Congress is irrelevant because until we have ethical and honest leadership from the superintendent and the school board, this problem will not stop.

   I give to the SOS (Supply our Students) every year. After what I've read in the newspaper, I can't help but wonder why I should if the people in charge of our schools are spending money on the things they have been and I'm spending my money on school supplies to students.

   Even if Superintendent Saavedra doesn't frequent the topless bars as he has claimed, surely someone in the chain of command could have said in checking the credit card bills, "Hey, this is wrong to be putting this on the school district's account." A topless club, $5,000?

   Let's just put an immediate cap on those credit cards and write a list of what they should and shouldn't be used for. Then, they shouldn't be allowed to use them for six months.

   I think it is absolutely horrible the way the CCISD superintendent has handled the district credit cards and travel expenses. With that huge salary he received this year, he needs to be fired. The board needs to be dismissed, and everything needs to be cleaned out.

   I really don't have much of a problem with Mr. Saavedra feeding his staff or the board, taking them once in a while for dinner or lunch. But I have a major, major, problem with his car allowance. I had no idea that he was getting $7,800 car allowance, plus unlimited maintenance. That's really bad.

   How can the board blame Saavedra for paying for meals that the board ate? Maybe they should all resign along with the superintendent.

   I think that the district credit card use should be curbed back to a per diem basis. Board members should certainly be paying for their own meals. I think the school district is going to have to do a closer review and no more paying for board meeting meals.

   I am a professional with Corpus Christi Independent School District, and I would like to know how the superintendent could get all this money. Look at what kind of raises we got on our paychecks.

   I am Hispanic, so my comment cannot be termed racist. To the school board: Fire the superintendent. Furthermore, the school board has to hire a respected, out-of-town, CPA firm to institute workable and realistic financial controls. We have teachers that have to buy school supplies out of their own pockets because they are told that the school district cannot afford it. Yet we can pay for trips to The Palace, expensive meals for staff, auto expenses and the like. Who approves these payments? Regarding The Palace expenditures . . . $5,230 is a heck of a lot of drinks and tips. One man cannot spend all that money on just a couple of visits. He had help. Finally, the superintendent needs the approval of the community to function. I'm sorry, but Saavedra simply does not have it.

   Regarding the CCISD credit cards, my opinion is that they should be totally withdrawn and that should be followed by the firing of both the superintendent and the school board. For $200,000, we can have the president of the United States heading the CCISD school board.

   Starting at the top would be a good place to address the credit card and travel expenses problem. I would call for the resignation of Superintendent Saavedra who not only participated but failed to monitor the spending frenzy. A per diem amount should be set and documentation should be required. The employees then can be reimbursed.

   I'm afraid that whatever CCISD does to handle travel expenses is really going to be useless until we hire people with ethics and who enforce honesty in their policies. Nothing is going to fix this "Abegate" until Dr. Saavedra and the members of the board that abused the city's trust resign.

   I believe the credit cards should be done away with. The people that have them have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to use them appropriately. Just give them advances if they need money to go on legitimate, authorized trips. No more credit cards. The car maintenance account for the superintendent should be done away with.

   What they can do about the credit cards is put them in the hands of someone else and get rid of Saavedra.

   Saavedra and the school board members who abused the credit cards should resign immediately and limits should be set on who get credit cards and how much they can spend. No future bond issue will ever pass with Saavedra still in office. The Internal Revenue Service should get involved.

   Take all the credit cards away from them and let them pay their own expenses. They are a disgrace to the city.

   They should eat at Whataburger and McDonald's with coupons. If we can go there, they can, too. They could sometimes get a free gift, too.

   I think we ought to stop them from using the credit cards. What is intolerable to me is that public officials went and spent $5,000 at a topless bar. What kind of example is that to the students of this community? They have no ethics at all. Strong measures need to be taken. They should be spending on education, not on entertainment for themselves.

   I think that Saavedra is a disgrace to the Hispanic community and the Corpus Christi school system. The easiest way to remedy this is to eliminate Abe.

   There should be a cap on spending depending on the various areas they travel to. Personal expenses should not be allowed on a CCISD credit card. I think someone needs to review this more than once every three months. It should be monitored as they come in and as they are submitted. I traveled for 20 years for the government, and we were never allowed to spend funds like that. It is taxpayers' money, and I strongly object to this kind of expense.

   I think the whole board is tainted with mismanagement. I would take them all out into the bay and the ones that were able to swim back, I would let them pay for the election of a brand new board. What a bunch of losers.

   It's too late to say, "I'm sorry. I will do better in the future." What they have done with the taxpayers' money is completely incomprehensible to me.

   That's a laugh - that trustees want to enforce the policies. It's like telling an alcoholic, "You're hired to run this liquor store." What a joke. I think that credit cards should be forfeited and only issued when necessary and better accounting needs to be made.

   Saavedra is one of the highest paid - $170,000 a year - public servants. I think he can afford to pay for his own meals and car expenses. If he is so extravagant on behalf on himself, I wonder what he does with the millions of dollars in the school budget. I think he should be fired along with all the board members.

   The credit cards should be terminated immediately. Absolutely no more credit cards at any time. There should be no allowance for meals or entertainment for the superintendent, his staff or the school board. If they have to travel on business, they should be held accountable on a per diem basis. And I think the superintendent and all of these people should be fired, without all their little goodies, immediately.

   One of the first things that should be done is that the entire school board and the superintendent should be fired. It is absolutely appalling that a multimillion-dollar business like the school district operates like a patron system. I cannot believe, first of all, that we gave Saavedra the raise we did and then the unlimited (car maintenance) and that there are no checks and balances of expense vouchers. I have worked in industry for 37 years and every expense I have ever asked for a reimbursement for required a receipt. They should all be fired, no ifs, ands or buts.

   Since the superintendent, certain assistants, as well as other school board members, have shown that they cannot be trusted with taxpayer funds to conduct financial business in a responsible and common sense manner, I suggest that all CCISD credit cards be canceled immediately and not be reissued, ever. Strict guidelines should be set up for out-of-town travel and per diems should be established on state and federal guidelines. If they spend more, it comes out of their pocket. No reimbursement for staff or board meals. A mid-sized car should be purchased for the superintendent and strict records be kept so that it is for official use only.

   Superintendent Saavedra has shown a complete lack of interest in the students in CCISD and tremendous interest in getting money, both with his gimmick of getting a raise last year and all this money for travel expenses. I think he should be fired.

   The trustees and the administrators should pay for their travel and business expenses themselves and then have it reimbursed by the school district after they submit an itemized and detailed expense report with all receipts. This is the way most businesses handle it. They usually do not pay all the expenses and then wait for the employees to reimburse the company. It's the other way around. You pay and then wait for the company to repay you if they are legitimate expenses.

   I am very upset about the spending. I see that they have no business at the taxpayers' expense to eat and so well. I feel that if it is going to be a long meeting then take their own lunch and eat there. If they go to eat out then each board member pays for himself. They should recall all credit cards.

   So now after several years, the school board is concerned about Honest Abe's credit cards. The citizens of El Paso are luckier than they can imagine. Two-hundred-dollar car washes. Excuse me while I throw up.

   I don't think there is a court in the land that will hold CCISD to a contract to pay Saavedra all this money that they say they will have to pay to get rid of him in view of the way he has abused his credit card charges.

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