In an expose by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, it was discovered that elected school board members for the Fort Worth Independent School District have gone hog-wild on travel spending. According to the newspaper:
From 2006 to 2014, trustees’ collective annual tab was $45,000 on average. But from July 1 to June 30, the current board incurred more than $82,000 in travel expenses… About $24,000 of the sum was incurred by the school board president alone, records show.
Of that $24,000 incurred by high-flying FWISD president, Jacinto Ramos Jr., only $558 was for “local mileage reimbursement.”
Jacinto Ramos
Ramos told the FWST the spending was justified because he wants “young people and staff know that I’m accessible. I’m really touchable.”
Does an adult working in public schools really want to say they are “touchable”?
If Ramos’ first justifications doesn’t cause nausea, consider his back-up justification: “my growth as a board member was accelerated due to the traveling … so much so that I got the [board] president’s role in two years on the board.”
Additionally, since the vast majority of the funds were spent traveling outside the region, it appears the expenses have made Ramos less (not more) accessible, to the students and teachers of the district he was elected to govern.
Could those dollars have been better spent by educators actually educating, rather than a Democrat holding a “non-partisan” elected office building industry clout and feeding his ego?
Seems like Jacinto Ramos likes having your wallet “accessible” so he can get “touchable” with your money.
