SAN ANTONIO – The Southside Independent School District confirms that it has no relationship with a local alumni association that claims to be raising money for college scholarships for seniors in the district.
The Internal Revenue Service and charity database GuideStar have no record of the Southside Alumni Association ever applying to become a nonprofit organization.
"This is a governmental entity, so there are rules, laws, even procedures you have to abide by in order to raise money for our kids," said Southside ISD spokesperson Sylvia Rincon, who pointed out that any nonprofit wanting to raise money for the district or its students must have a 501(c)(3) designation.
The designation makes a group a nonprofit in the eyes of the federal government and makes it exempt from having to pay federal income tax.
Multiple board members of the alumni association, including the group's president, confirmed to the KSAT 12 Defenders that they have raised money through softball tournaments and other fundraisers since 2015, but have yet to hand out a single scholarship.
"You always have somebody who hates you. Somebody has a hatred. Not in it for Southside, in it for their own benefit," said alumni association president Roy John Rodriguez when asked why the group never went through the necessary steps to become a nonprofit.
A Facebook page for the group shows alumni from the high school formed teams based on graduation year then paid $175 to take part in the group's second annual tournament last October.
Rodriguez and fellow board member George De La Garza both said the group has not paid taxes on the more than $4,800 the group has taken in from alumni events so far.
Rodriguez quoted how much money the alumni group has raised to date, but repeatedly refused to say where the money is being held.
The group first approached Southside officials about handing out scholarships a year ago.
"We gave them the information in order to establish a relationship with the district, that they needed the 501(c)(3), and to get back to us when they had their papers in order," Rincon said.
De La Garza confirms that the group met with the district, but said officials could have done more to help them go through the process of registering.
"We tried to follow the rules last year, but they blew us off," De La Garza said.
Rincon said Southside has made great strides in recent years educating the community on how to legally and properly raise money for the district. She provided The Defenders a reference guide created by the district that provides a step-by-step guide on how to establish a charitable relationship with Southside.
"We're here for you, because we don't want you getting in trouble. We don't want the law coming after you, because that can happen. It can turn ugly really fast if you're not following procedures," Rincon said.
Even if the alumni association becomes a nonprofit, Southside would not say whether it will go through with establishing a relationship while Rodriguez is the group's president.
Bexar County Court records obtained by The Defenders show that Rodriguez was twice charged with theft by check in 2005.
Multiple warrants were issued for Rodriguez's arrest from February 2006 through March 2007 after he missed several court appearances.
Records show that Rodriguez later arranged to get bond, but paid full restitution and got the charges dismissed in June 2007 without being taken into custody.
Rodriguez declined to say much about the theft charges, referring us to his attorney on the case. The attorney did not respond to our calls for comment.
"I wrote a hot check 10 years ago. I paid it. We all write hot checks," Rodriguez said.