Nepotism indictment against Brownsville ISD trustee Peña dismissed again
Oct. 6—The 13th Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal of an indictment against Brownsville Independent School District trustee Minerva Peña that charged nepotism, effectively ending the case.
On Thursday, the court issued a memorandum opinion on an appeal from the 404th state District Court, which granted the state's motion to dismiss the indictment against Peña. The opinion confirmed an earlier dismissal of the indictment.
Now that the nepotism indictment has been quashed, Peña has resumed her practice of attending all BISD functions.
In May, visiting state judge Linda Yanez dismissed an indictment against Peña, confirming her contention that she was innocent of the nepotism charges levied against her. Yañez, the former senior judge on the 13th Court of Appeals, issued the order to quash, or dismiss, the indictment after a hearing March 31 in the 404th state District Court.
Previously, the BISD Board of Trustees passed a resolution Oct. 27 maintaining the status quo in a case involving Peña, the board's longest serving member, and employment of her daughter-in-law as a teacher at Veterans Memorial Early College High School.
The vote was 6-0-1 with Peña abstaining. It came after a 2 1/2-hour closed-door executive session.
On Oct. 22, 2021, Peña surrendered to Cameron County Sheriff's deputies on a single Class C misdemeanor charge of nepotism in the case. Prior to that, a county grand jury and District Attorney Luis V. Saenz charged that Peña had violated section 573.041 of the Texas Government Code, the state's nepotism law, between June 8, 2021 and Aug. 6, 2021 regarding her daughter-in-law's employment. The daughter-in-law later passed away.
After she surrendered to deputies, Peña's attorney Rick Zayas posted an attorney surety bond for her, and she was released.
Peña has always said she had nothing to do with BISD hiring her daughter-in-law, who later separated from her son, saying that as a board member she has always left hiring decisions to Superintendent Rene Gutierrez and his administration as required by law.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the BISD board had delegated authority to hire and fire teachers to Gutierrez to give him flexibility in running the district. Hiring teachers quickly became important with many reluctant to serve as the pandemic raged.
After she was indicted, Peña voluntarily refrained from attending or participating in BISD activities other than to fulfill her duties as a board trustee.
At the Oct. 27 meeting, the board passed a resolution confirming its duty to oversee management of the district and the fact that it delegates responsibility for hiring and firing teachers to Gutierrez. Not withstanding that, the resolution also confirmed the board's responsibility to make sure nepotism laws are followed and enforced.
Throughout the process, Peña asserted her intention to fight the nepotism allegations against her to ensure that what was happening to her never happens to anyone else.
