The Beaumont ISD board of trustees will discuss and vote on proposals to rename the district’s football field and stadium complex after a former superintendent, just a few years after the name was chiseled off.
The initial decision to rename the $45 million stadium to the current “BISD Memorial Stadium” came after a three-year debate in which detractors cited mismanagement of a bond issue and the subsequent state takeover of the district after the former Superintendent, Carrol Thomas retired in 2012.
A forensic audit of the bond issue completed in 2015 harshly criticized Thomas and his administration for mismanagement of the money, including approving payment for work that was not done and agreeing to budget changes without board oversight.
Among those voting will be Trustee Zenobia Bush, who was adamantly opposed to the removal at the time it was voted on by a state-appointed board of managers. She was not on the board at the time.
Another is Trustee Darrell Antwine, who told The Enterprise earlier this week that elected officials should have made the decision.
“I don’t think the board of managers should have had the authority to take it down,” Antwine said Tuesday. “That should have been left to an elected board.”
Many in the Black community believe the deeper issue is honoring a Black man, the first to lead the district, and who made improvements despite the recorded mismangement of funds.
Proponents of the change say the debate is about accountability, not race.
The board meeting will be held at 3395 Harrison Avenue starting at 6 p.m.
isaac.windes@hearstnp.com
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