New Public Information Request sent to nonresponsive PSJA ISD

Maybe the second time will prove the charm?

After receiving no response from PSJA ISD — zip, zero, nada, other than confirmation of receipt — to a public information request submitted by The Advance on Aug. 16, 2021, we decided to give it another shot and sent the district a new one Monday, Nov. 8.

If the second PIR garners no response, then the newspaper will file an official complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, citing non-compliance on the part of the school district (Public Information Act).

As it did this past August, The Advance is requesting a copy of the settlement agreement (Compromise Agreement) between the district and former Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Rene Campos who sued the district for discrimination (age). The Public Information Request also includes copies of the payments made by the district to attorneys to defend the district.

Campos worked for the district for 26 years when Dr. Daniel King retired, credited with bringing national attention to the district for numerous accolades. After King’s retirement, a new superintendent from outside the Rio Grande Valley came on board, Dr. Jorge Arredondo, who then brought in other out-of-towners to fill key administrative positions.

Campos claimed that he wasn’t even interviewed for a key position despite his long tenure with the district, claiming age discrimination.

As a result, he was seeking monetary relief “over $200,000 but not more than $1 million.”

The Campos Lawsuit

In the lawsuit filed by Rene Campos last year, the former assistant superintendent claims that despite his 26-year tenure with PSJA ISD, he was not granted an interview when he applied for the newly created position of “Chief of Operations” shortly after the arrival of Arredondo in October 2019.

Instead, according to Campos’s suit, the new superintendent recommended the selection of Hestroverto “Nick” Martinez for the position, who is approximately 25 years younger and less qualified than Campos, according to the lawsuit. (Martinez has since left the district.) The board approved Arredondo’s recommendation.

Campos claims, courtesy of court filings, that Arredondo has a history of age discrimination during his former tenure with Houston ISD.

According to Campos, he wasn’t granted an interview for the newly created position of chief of operations, despite having a CPA license, as well as being assistant superintendent for support services at the time with a long distinguished career with the district.

Nine days after he filed an age-discrimination complaint against the new superintendent, he was demoted and saw his salary cut by $39,543.

In its original response filed with the court, the district said the demotion and salary decrease had nothing to do with age discrimination, and it would have been a done deal whether or not the discrimination complaint had been filed nine days prior.

Campos makes other claims in his original lawsuit:

“Furthermore, since the hiring of Superintendent Arredondo, younger and less qualified employees have been hired through his recommendations for the Chief of Operations, Chief of Academics, Chief of HR, Employee Relations Assistant, and Assistant Superintendent for Technology, all substantially younger than Plaintiff.”

In its “Original Answer with Affirmative Defenses” as a counter to Campos’s lawsuit, PSJA ISD, through its attorneys, said that the state district court lacks “subject matter jurisdiction” over (Campos’s) claims “to the extent any such claims are barred by governmental immunity,” or “were filed outside the relevant statute of limitations.”

The school district also denies that “it had any discriminatory/retaliatory motivating factor for any action taken regarding (Campos’s) employment. Defendant (PSJA ISD) asserts that any such action (Campos’s demotion and salary cut) would have been taken place regardless of any discriminatory/retaliatory motivating factor.”

On April 23, 2021, Campos filed a motion for non-suit with prejudice (meaning, it’s final) with the state district court (the 206th), saying that he and PSJA ISD had reached a compromise.

Now, the question remains, how much money did PSJA ISD pay Rene Campos to settle the matter, and how much in attorneys’ fees did all of this cost the district (taxpayers)?