Community members raise $5,000 to donate to Pasadena students whose scholarships were canceled by the city – Houston Public Media

Two Pasadena students will receive more than $5,000 raised by community members after a city attorney rescinded their $500 city-funded scholarships.

Support and funding comes from organizations like FIEL, Houston Millennials and Miss Texas Pasadena, as well as other titleholders. Ana Pineda is a prospective student at Texas A&M University and originally received one of the $500 scholarships. She said she was devastated when she learned the scholarship had been canceled.

“I really wasn’t sure if I was making the right decision to continue my education or not,” Pineda said. “I was really nervous and doubted my abilities. It made me think, maybe I wasn’t working hard enough. If, as a minority, I didn’t deserve to succeed.”

Last week, the same students were notified by Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner that they would receive $1,000 from a donor, regardless of the money raised by the community. In a statement, Wagner said, “The hard work of these young ladies should not be negated because (Councilor Emmanuel Guerrero) doesn’t know how to do his job.” The scholarships were originally canceled because the city said it was against Texas law to award taxpayer money for private purposes.

Guerrero was at the Pasadena City Council for a news conference Tuesday, where he said he still feels disrespected by other members of the administration who canceled $500 stipends while he was out of town.

“Calling me a ‘junior council member’ … The mayor also put out a statement saying he found a private donor, one of his friends, who could match the donation and double the scholarships,” Guerrero said. “Okay, so you want to have a white knight moment?”

The Houston-area advocacy group FIEL is working with Guerrero and is calling on the city attorney who revoked the scholarships to resign. FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said both students are from Pasadena High School. The school is 96 percent Latino and is made up mostly of students from low-income families, he said.

“And while other people were trying to get involved, trying to undo the damage by offering these people discretionary funds, the city went ahead and publicly rescinded that grant, trying to make a mockery of the fact that Councilman Guerrero even offered it,” Espinosa said.

Guerrero said other council members used their district’s discretionary funds for gift cards and buying turkeys. But Espinosa said whether other council members also donated money is speculation.

“It’s unfair that they’re doing this in good faith, but they’ve used the money for their own personal gain. And unfortunately, I don’t want to assume anything, but I know there’s a lot of stuff that’s just been swept under the rug.”