PASADENA, Texas – Nearly a week after KPRC 2′s report on scholarships revoked for college-bound students in Pasadena, community members stepped into assist.
Council Member Emmanuel Guerrero spoke with KPRC 2 reporter Deven Clarke last week expressing his outrage after the $500 scholarships he created with his allowed budget funds were canceled by the city attorney behind his back.
After Clarke’s report, community members who shared this outrage stepped in and raised more than $5,000 for the students. They are also expected to gather Tuesday at Pasadena City Hall to share remarks on what happened and shed light on inequities communities of color face.
“We find the level of scrutiny in this case a bit suspicious. When other members have stood by and let their discretionary funding be put to use in a variety of other scenarios all of the sudden they want to question the goodwill of Councilmember Guerrero,” Cesar Espinosa FIEL Executive Director said in a press statement. “The move done by the City Attorney and Mayor Wagner poignantly reaffirms the fact that they simply do not respect our community. After the measure survived several points where it may have been intercepted the city took these scholarships abruptly and rudely. We hope that they do right by the young ladies and we hope that moving forward there is as much scrutiny with all council members as to where their discretionary funds go.”
Days later, Councilman Guerrero thanked KPRC 2 for our coverage in a message to digital producer Ahmed Humble for the in-depth coverage and dedication displayed by Deven Clarke.
This was after two of the college-bound girls, Lauren Centeno and Ana Pineda, were already told they would receive the money but then received the crushing news. With outstanding grades and multiple skill sets, some would call the soon-to-be Texas A&M students overachievers.
“In the very far future I do want to become a lawyer,” Centeno told Clarke.
“I’m deciding what branch of engineering still,” Pineda added.
Councilman Guerrero says he wouldn’t mind so much if this move affected him, but the fact it’s affecting two of his constituents who happen to be teenage girls in need, puts it at an all-time low. Especially since the money he used was from his allotted budget to fund the $500 scholarships.
“They (checks) were cut, they were approved and reviewed by the payroll manager and by the city attorney who created this (list of checks),” Guerrero said. “They were physically already there. All you needed was the yes and OK.”
Guerrero says he later learned that 20 minutes before the following council meeting which he couldn’t attend, city attorney Jay Dale pulled the checks without explanation. He told Clarke he felt the move was personal.
“I constantly fight the inequalities on city council. Being a Latino, being the youngest ever, I constantly have an uphill battle,” Guerrero said. “The difficulty we see when awarding these scholarships is we did the proper process, we did the proper vetting, the proper approvals. We jumped through all the hoops and the hurdles and obstacles they put in our way. And this is a clear example of how when Latinos, Latinas are close to the finish line, the goalpost gets moved on us.”
KPRC 2 reporter Deven Clarke gave Dale a call to ask why out of 11 pages of checks, those were the only ones pulled and in short, was met with hostility and anger.
“The money that we spend at the city belongs to the citizens and somebody that thinks that they can start giving scholarships to private individuals has got a long road ahead,” Dale is heard saying over the phone. “They don’t even know the basics, and it sounds like you don’t either.”
Here is the full conversation between Clarke and Dale.
Councilman Guerrero who says he believes Dale’s decision is a reflection of long-standing inequalities against Latinos says he plans to raise awareness about this issue during the next meeting and promises the girls will get their scholarships one way or another.