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San Antonio Independent School District Trustee Olga Hernandez should resign her school board seat.
Hernandez, 66, was indicted last week on public corruption charges in connection with an ongoing federal investigation into a bribery and kickback plan involving local school district vendors.
School board members serve as critical links to the public schools. It is in the best interest of the inner city school district she serves that Hernandez voluntarily give up her position, though she is not required to by law.
The charges against Hernandez stem from information gathered by federal investigators in the case of Samuel Mullen, an insurance broker who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in November. Mullen admitted using bribes to gain inside information on school district insurance contracts. Two others who participated in that scheme have also entered guilty pleas on conspiracy charges.
Hernandez stands accused of being part of that conspiracy, and is alleged to have accepted “bribes in the form of cash, jewelry and travel from her co-conspirators in exchange for influence on the board and her vote on numerous insurance contacts,” staff writer Guillermo Contreras reports. According to the indictment, the gifts were made between 2013 and 2015.
Elected in 2007, Hernandez is serving her third term. She has two years left on her current term.
“School board members are guardians of the public trust.” That’s how the Texas Association of School Board defines the primary function of the board and its members on its website.
Building that sacred trust takes years. When school board members are charged with crimes alleged to be connected to their activities as public officials, this affects the entire school district, not just the community that elects them.
A criminal indictment is not an indication of guilt. A criminal defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. However, adjudication can sometimes take years.
In this case, the interests of the district’s 53,700 schoolchildren and its taxpayers should take top priority. SAISD is moving forward on many new initiatives. There has been tremendous community support and monetary investment in changing the direction of this struggling school district.
Having a school board member with public corruption charges pending undermines public confidence and presents an unnecessary distraction. Hernandez should resign.
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