Retired Fire Chief Lights Fire Under My Ass

KISD Blog by Liz Ramos

6/27/2019

I wasn’t sure how I was going to write this tonight. I have other thoughts spinning in my head about important issues dealing with KISD. Like write a quick blog about minutes on what happened at board meetings. I don’t want Garza Sr. thinking that he is always in my thoughts, because he is not. I do write a lot about him. To be honest, he keeps giving me the material to do so. I have been called a bunch of things by some of the public in Kingsville. I just want to give a shout out to them and let them know that I may be new here, but I am not inept. I may not know everything and I may not know as much as you, but here is the thing, I really don’t give a damn! I know what my intentions are. I hope people can read my blogs and blatantly see how I feel and what my true intensions are. I have never gone this hard about the community in which I reside. I see wonderful things happening in my community and I want to be involved. I get involved not on the premise of being involved in a social circle or to have and obtain gains from others. I get involved because if it is what is right and good in the community. I have been known to voice my opinions and get involved in matters I feel that need to be, as those who can, should. I am literally almost alone in this. I have NOTHING to gain and everything to lose. I do this because I want what is best for the students, parents, teachers, staff, school, and community. I cannot sit idly by and watch the same things happen over and over again with the same people expecting different results. Not everyone is perfect and I don’t hold them to be that. Lord knows I am not! The difference between me and you is, I do not mind being humbled. I will freely admit when I am wrong.

Onto Garza Sr now. I wrote a Letter to the Editor for the Kingsville Record in hopes it would be published today. I wrote it in such haste to get it to them prior to submission cutoff. I probably spelled half the words wrong in it, but as long as I got my point out there, oh well. Let me flip the switch to Monday night at the KISD Regular Board meeting. I do not normally publicly participate as much as I do. (Please see KISD video where I get up to talk in front of the board to get caught up to speed.) I spoke about the dangers that is drop-off and pick-up times at local elementary schools. It is chaotic to say the least. If anyone in this town has ever had their young child go to a school elsewhere, you know exactly what it is I am talking about. I am talking about parents walking all over the place. Kids walking out in front of cars. Cars speeding in school zones. Yaddi, yaddi, yaddi. I have contacted the campus about this the beginning of school. No one responded. I contacted KISD when it was under the interim superintendent. I have also spoke with local law enforcement. I have spoken to other representatives in other districts on their take. There are many solutions to this problem, but a lot of people have to be involved to help. It is way easier said than done.

After I participated and said my peace to the board members Garza Sr. said my name out loud and called me over. He asked me along the lines if I have ever given thought to volunteering as a crossing guard or forming a group to help. I said, “Yes. I have thought of that.” I have also used my common sense and my brain told me that I don’t think the city would allow me to stand in the middle of a road, directing traffic, or stopping traffic to let kids cross. Common sense would tell me that I would be impeding the flow of traffic and I would also put myself in danger. And I am right. Because I did my homework after I thought of doing those things. I also responded, “I don’t think the city would appreciate me doing that.” And if he listened to my speech, he would have known I have talked to the city about this issue and I said out loud, with my lips nearly sucking the microphone because it bleeping sucks, “I will press this issue with city hall again.” (Something along those lines). Communication at the school level is shit and I don’t want to be that bitchy parent. I let it go. The schools did make an effort to try and control the madness after an elderly lady was hit by a car down the road by Harvey Elementary school. That dwindled away after two weeks and it went back to being the norm. Constable Hack does a phenomenal job of trying to corral the masses and get them in order on the road. He warns speeders and will sometimes pull them over. So, Garza Sr., I don’t overlook these things. I appreciate the help Constable Hack has offered. You also must think I am naive, simpleminded, dull, imbecilic, and moronic too. I must be an attention seeking whore who has nothing better to do with my life than to bitch, bitch, bitch, about stupid stuff, eh? Well, maybe you are right.

I want to point out the obvious here. Garza Sr. passed the entirety of the problem off on the parents. He thinks this problem is because of the parents. To a certain extent I agree, but will not go into the details of my thoughts on that. He comes off as if believes if parents want improvement on this issue and if they are that concerned about a child being hit on the road or on school grounds by a car, the parents should do it. That question he asked me was a cop-out! I told the board that they cannot point their fingers at the city to fix the problem and the city cannot point their fingers at KISD. They are both responsible! So instead of pointing the finger at the city, or taking a look into this issue deeper, he pointed the finger at the parents! He could have at least acted like he cared! He could have at least blown smoke and mirrors up my ass and other people’s asses (because more than just “me” cares about this issue) and played us along for a couple of months pretending to give a shit. Mr. Coufal leaned over and stated, “You know the schools used to be worse than what is it now, years ago.” I was like, “Oh, really?” I wasn’t sure if he was tying to throw in my face the fact that I am new here. But let me throw this one out there and see who catches it: You are right, I am new here, but some things are just unacceptable! The safety of the children who attend your district, which is a whopping average of 3,150 kids or so, much lower than “a few years ago", should be the utmost importance to you! See what I did there?

FYI, Garza Sr., you cannot just start a parental or community volunteer group like that out of the blue. Even if that were possible it is YOUR job, not us! We pay taxes for YOU to do that. As a parent that you are “passing the buck” on, you do realize parents do have to take their child to school and are busy doing that during drop-off and pick-up time? I mean, if you have a reasonable solution to this problem, please share with the community!

Garza Sr. passes the problems off on others. He is currently trying to start the blame game with Bera. Obvious during the board meeting when he makes snarky remarks to her. I am sure he already wants her gone. She probably doesn’t fit the bill of a puppet for him. I am starting to think he helped create a lot of the problems KISD currently has. People in Kingsville have gotten so complacent by voting these people on the board. It is a popularity contest. A “who’s who” of people known around here. Come on people! Wake up! I am ashamed that he thinks and acts this way. I have exaggerated nothing in these blogs. I have my own thoughts and opinions but what I tell you is exactly how it happened. If you don’t like that then I am sorry. I am, as some people have said, merely shining a light. I am holding up a mirror and reflecting everything back to KISD and showing the public. If you don’t like it, you should not be mad at me. I don’t expect the board to be perfect. I am really starting to have zero faith in 4 members on the board.

So, yea, Garza Sr. lit a fire under my ass. Normally I wouldn’t let those things bother me, like the stupid email or phone number. This has to do with the well-being and safety of our children and the fact that he acts blatantly like he doesn’t care. This is what lit a fire under my ass. I am dumbfounded about why this guy acts like this. He puts on a show here and there during the board meeting and is totally different outside of them. If someone gets injured this year, I am pointing the finger at the city, and I am going to point the finger at YOU! When I am done pointing fingers, someone will have to call Kingsville Fire Department to come put my ass out.