A persistent problem in Raymondville over the past 35 years is the high student dropout rate
in our public school system. At one time the RISD had a tendency to expel students who were
behavior problems on campus. When the State began tying attendance to financial payments
to the district that changed and efforts were made to keep all students on campus.
The South Texas student dropout rate has always been higher than the state average and our
district seems to always be among the highest in the Rio Grande Valley. Figures recently
released by the Texas Education Agency show that only San Benito has a bigger percentage of
dropouts than does Raymondville.
The problem is a persistent once. When I came to Raymondville with my family in 1976 the
biggest local concern was the high dropout rate among our public school students. Truancy
was alarming and we used to have meetings to find a solution.
Eleazar Garcia, Sr. was the truant office for the Raymondville ISD. Jerry Jacobs was the
superintendent of schools. Edna Cisnero was the district attorney and Sabas Garza was the
chief of police. Oscar Correa was the county sheriff.
Everyone had their own ideas about what should be done.
That was 34 years ago and not much has changed. Raymondville and San Benito are in a
dead heat to see which city has the worst dropout record. The state of Texas dropout rate for
the Class of 2008 was-l0.5 %. The rate for San Benito ISD was-l9.5 % and the rate for Raymondville
ISD was-19.3 percent.
Meanwhile Lyford CISD was only-5.8 % and San Perlita ISD,-6.3 %. La Feria, - 7.3%, Port
Isabel,-5.6 %, Rio Hondo, -16.5 % and Santa Rosa, -11.0 %.
The only difference I see between now and 1976 is that we no longer hold meetings. It
seems that we have accepted the status quo and given up on the problem.
The Texas Department of Education has twice sent a monitor here to look over the shoulders
of our elected school board members and to give advice. Soon they gave up and returned to
Austin.
Things are so bad now that students can transfer from the Raymondville ISD to surrounding
districts and our taxpapers have to pay a portion of their education cost through our school
taxes. Not only are our students not being prepared to attend college, or to enter the workforce
but the district is losing the state revenue that we get to educate them.
What lies ahead?
My guess is that the TEC will take over our schools again and this time they will send a
"Master" rather than a monitor, to our community. When a master arrives, the school board
will be dismissed and the State will run our schools for us.
This is a sad situation but it may be inevitible.
Who is to blame for this mess?
I suggest that those who ran for the school board 10 years ago, to get rid of Superintendent
Santos Lujan and later Mrs. Bernadette Cover, are to blame. The other interest they had was to
land high paying jobs for their friends and relatives and to run off most of the long term
teachers.
Those people are no longer on the board but this community is still paying the price of their
actions and most of the friends and relatives are still on the payroll.
I do not mean to be critical of Supt. Johnny Pineda and the current school board. It is impossible
to make progress when there have been 4 superintendents in 10 years.
It was bad school board politics that caused parents to begin moving their children to San
Perlita, Lyford and Harlingen for their education.
Who would have guessed that Lyford CISD would have 118 graduates this year to 111 for
Raymondville ISD, when our community's population is four times that of Lyford.