I was somewhat shocked to learn that Diane Rodriguez continues to get checks from the Mineral County School District for vague and unclear services. In July, she landed herself another very contract for approximately 16k. From what I can tell, yet again no bids were solicited.
Soliciting bids should be a general practice of the district when available. Just like the auditing firm, the Mineral County School District and Andre Ponder have managed to hand out taxpayer money with no real substance behind the contract. Was it a good value? We will never know because of the underhanded closed-door dealings of Andre Ponder and Diane Rodriguez.
I personally saw Diane Rodriguez’s bill for a spreadsheet that never materialized for over $10,0000. It kind of now makes more sense why my bringing the likely fictitious bill to Andre Ponder’s attention went without action. It would be interesting to know what other shady dealings have gone down under Andre Ponders tenure.
The approximately $70,000 Diane Rodriguez has vacuumed out of the district with her trusty sidekicks Andre Ponder and Hope Blinco. That would’ve been enough to hire most educators. Add that to the quid pro quo of the payroll position that was created almost instantly in December immediately adjacent to a lucrative Rodriguez contract award and would have 2 full-time Social Workers in the schools.
The scary part is this is likely the tip of the iceberg. How many other silver platters of cash has Andre Ponder passed out? Are there other contracts out there that the taxpayer doesn’t know about? I for one also have concerns that several district employees are receiving stipends on their salary for services not performed.
Perhaps if Andre Ponder had put in the same effort he has expended handing out undisclosed contracts, the district would not have lost vital special education services. The money wasted this far could’ve even created a more attractive reason for a person with vital training to move here. But alas, we should all be glad Diane Rodriguez has been unable to unpack a golden parachute and will probably start packing another.
