Rick Rodriguez remains on UISD Board with restrictions following no confidence vote

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A UISD Trustee who has been at the epicenter of controversy remains on the board despite a recent visit by the FBI regarding a company he owns.

While the school board cannot legally remove Rick Rodriguez from office, they have implemented restrictions on his position.

Earlier this week, KGNS confirmed the FBI met with UISD administration and his now-former employer the Webb County Sheriff regarding Rodriguez disinfecting company.

In 2021, Rodriguez was awarded a more than $400,000 contract with UISD despite being a trustee.

On Thursday night, the UISD Board of Trustees met to talk about the fallout from the FBI’s visit.

After legal consultation, the board issued a no confidence vote and limited Rodriguez’s access to district facilities.

The only way Rodriguez can take part in a district event is if his children are directly involved; however, Rodriguez, can still take part in board meetings and workshops.

Hilario Cavazos, one of the community members who went to Thursday’s meeting said he believes the district made the right decision.

“The root of the problem was when he was granted this contract, this certain individual who is no longer a part of the board can no longer enter the property and shouldn’t; be doing this in the first place, it was wrong of him,” said Cavazos. “His interests were basically, how do I make money off of covid? And this is about serving the kids, the students, the taxpayer, parents, and all of that.”

Meanwhile, UISD Board President Ramiro Veliz said going forward, the board is looking into creating a local policy that would prevents district employees and or sitting board members to be a vendor for the district.

Veliz said that if Rodriguez does decide to resign, the district has a window of 180 days to appoint someone or schedule a special called election for that district.

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