Corpus Christi (KIII News) — A local chapter of a teachers union held a press conference Monday asking voters to say no to the CCISD's $210 million dollar bond proposal.
The American Federation of Teachers suggested that the plans for using the money can and should be changed and that certain members of the school board can not be trusted.
"We just don't trust some of the school board members on this board to do the right thing by our children," Dr. Nancy Vera, President of AFT Corpus Christi, said.
One-hundred and twenty-five million dollars of the bond would primarily go to building a new Carroll High School.
"We feel like the citizens of Corpus chirsti and for our students that it is time to invest in a new Carroll High School," Catherine Suser, President of the CCISD School Board, said."
But, Vera said she's not so sure that's where all the money should go.
"Gibson elementary school that has a leakey roof and Miller high School that needs major renovations have not been considered in this bond," Vera said.
"There are a few bad apples on that board and one of them has failed to file a campaign finance report he's been on that board longer than anybody," Ray McMurrey, secretary and treasurer of Texas AFT said.
The board member the AFT was specifically talking about is John Longoria.
They claim he favors certain contractors and helps grant them the contracts for work on the schools.
but 3 News talked exclusively with Longoria and he denied that wholeheartedly.
"I haven't had a campaign account in 8 years," Longoria said. "I haven't had to have one. I'm not one of those politicians that raises money all of the time."
And he had back up from his colleagues.
"Our 125 million is very much spot on and is competitive with what is being constructed around the state," Susser said.
In the end, AFT members said they would say yes if everyone knows what the bond will cost and where those funds will go in detail.
"It's not right to continue asking the tax payers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars and this is now upwards of almost a billion dollars over the last ten years." McMurrey said.