I want the community to understand exactly why I’m speaking out.
Brazosport ISD has spent years marketing Stephen F. Austin STEM Academy in Jones Creek, Texas as a “STEM Academy” —
yet there is no TEA certification, no formal designation, no documented STEM curriculum, and no record of the District ever meeting the requirements for that title.
Despite this, the District used the “STEM Academy” label in bond promotions, public messaging, and community conversations that shaped how voters understood the future of this campus.
Now BISD is preparing to dissolve or reconfigure SFA without ever accounting for the money, the program, or the truth behind the label they used to gain public support.
This isn’t just about a school.
It’s about transparency.
It’s about taxpayer honesty.
It’s about trust.
When a district markets a program it cannot prove exists,
when public funds are tied to claims that cannot be verified,
and when closure decisions move forward without answers —
the public deserves to ask hard questions.
And I will continue asking them.
Transparency is not optional.
Accountability is not optional.
This community deserves answers before decisions are made behind closed doors.
— Rhonda Clavell Rivera
Founder, Guardians for Transparency Through Truth, Education & Reform
