Dr. Cynthia Gutierrez and Board Prez 'Sorry' is just a five-letter word

PSJA ISD had a special-called board meeting last Monday (Oct. 25) to discuss a few things, such as paying the City of Pharr what it owes in past-due funds for the shared construction of the new natatorium (money still hasn’t been paid as of Tuesday, Nov. 2). During that entire meeting last week, Board Trustee Dr. Cynthia Gutierrez stood in protest over what occurred the week prior, Oct. 18.

She said later that she stood the entire meeting (Oct. 25) as a sign of protest over Board President Jorge Zambrano saying the week prior during the public portion of the board meeting that the district’s IT department needs to remove “Doctor” from in front of her name because it’s “misleading.”

The story about that meeting was published on the front page of last week’s Advance issue (Oct. 27).

Couple of problems still unresolved. Number one, Gutierrez is licensed to practice medicine in Mexico, which makes her a licensed physician, so she is entitled to the professional title “Doctor” no matter which side of the border she is on at any given moment.

Second, no board trustee has the authority to direct school staff. That authority rests with the superintendent. Meaning, when Jorge Zambrano told IT in open session to remove “Doctor” from in front of Cynthia Gutierrez’s name, he was out of order, with all due respect.

Now, Dr. Gutierrez says she is going to stand at every board meeting, both in open session and in executive session, until Zambrano extends an apology her way for what she calls an effort to humiliate her. According to her, he could have brought up the “Doctor” matter behind closed doors if he had an issue with it, but chose instead to do so in open fashion. This, she said, despite the fact that when she ran with the Zambrano brothers (Jorge and Jesse) on the 2020 board election slate, they were more than happy when people referred to her as “La Doctora,” since having a physician on any political slate adds some prestige and credibility to the cause, so to speak, given the work it takes to not only get accepted in to a medical school but navigate the difficult years required to graduate.

She’s also standing as a show of support, she said, for the many professionals working within the district who were educated outside of the U.S., but chose to come here to work at PSJA ISD or at any district in the U.S. Where they were educated isn’t the issue as long as they get licensed here, she said.

PSJA ISD has people, professionals, teachers, who were educated in Mexico, the Philippines, for example, who deserve credit for what they accomplished. We are lucky to have them working here.

Currently, Gutierrez is working on becoming a licensed physician in the U.S., but said that the personal attack against her, as she describes it, is also an attack against other professionals who have been educated outside U.S. borders. In fact, she called Jorge Zambrano’s remark “racist,” even though the Zambrano brothers were born and partly educated in Mexico before their parents moved to the RGV during their elementary and middle-school years.

Question is, how hard is to it say “I apologize?” I do it all the time, because I’m human, and I make mistakes.

In fact, I think saying “I’m sorry” is a sign of strength, not weakness.

If the board president could just say that one word and direct it toward Dr. Gutierrez, this whole issue could be laid aside. If he doesn’t, it will last until the next election, and Dr. Gutierrez will stand the entire time.

Joining her as a sign of support is her fellow board trustee, Carlos Villegas.