McAllen ISD, Board of Trustees, Lucia Regalado, Roberto Haddad, Erica de la Garza-Lopez, Sofia Peña, Robert Carreon, 2026 bond, Samco Capital Markets, Moody’s, bond oversight committee, Marcos Flores, Homer J. Morris Middle School, educator partnerships, Region One ESC, Western Governors University, UTRGV, South Texas College, Lorena Garcia, René Gutiérrez, Memorial High School
Arnoldo Mata
McAllen TX - The McAllen ISD Board of Trustees held a special meeting Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the Dr. Ricardo Chapa Board Room, 2000 N. 23rd St., taking action on educator partnership agreements, the district’s 2026 bond program, a new middle school principal, and human resources recommendations for the coming school year.
Public Comment
One speaker addressed the board during the public comment period. Papito Gonzalez, a former Memorial High School basketball player and golfer, raised concerns about the hiring process for a coaching position at Memorial, citing what he described as a record of six straight losing seasons, no playoff appearances, and an approximately 39% career win rate for the candidate under consideration. He also said the candidate had previously been placed on a growth plan by another district and later reassigned from coaching.
“I respectfully ask the board and superintendent to ensure athletic leadership decisions reflect strong standards, follow proper procedures, and communicate clearly with the community,” Gonzalez said. “Our community, staff, and students deserve leaders who hire based on merit, experience, and what’s best for our kids.”
Educator Partnership Agreements Approved
The board approved four consent agenda items related to educator preparation and retention, all submitted by Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Albert Canales and presented by Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez. The items, approved 6-0, include:
A Preparing and Recruiting Educators through Partnership memorandum of understanding for 2026-2027 between McAllen ISD and Region One Education Service Center
An Apprenticeship Pathway Related Instruction Partnership Agreement between McAllen ISD and Western Governors University
A PREP Grow Your Own memorandum of understanding between McAllen ISD and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
A Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership Grow Your Own Program memorandum of understanding between McAllen ISD and South Texas College
Bond Project Manager RFQ Discussion
Deputy Superintendent for Business and Operations Lorena Garcia presented the scope of services, evaluation criteria, and scoring rubric for the upcoming Request for Qualifications for a bond project management firm. The item was for information only and generated extensive board discussion on the scoring structure.
Garcia outlined a 1,000-point evaluation system, with 750 points allocated to administrative ranking and 250 points to board interviews. Trustee Roberto A. Haddad recommended reducing the board interview allocation from 250 to 150 points and increasing the weight of cost estimating, budget, and change management capability from 100 to 200 points.
“I see one of the biggest risks to us in this bond and the success of this bond are maintaining budget, coming under budget, and change orders,” Haddad said. “I think that is one of the most fundamental, and right now we’re only allocating 10% of the points there.”
Board President Lucia Regalado supported the recommendation. “As it was proposed, the board interviews represented the largest share of overall points, and I think our insight is important, and I appreciate that there’s interviews here, but I also trust the administration, the due diligence, and the procurement processes.”
The board also discussed how to handle disclosure of litigation history by firms applying for the project manager contract. After extended discussion involving the district’s attorney, the board agreed to remove points from the litigation disclosure category, instead requiring firms to disclose all case numbers from any state or federal litigation and provide disposition information, without awarding or penalizing points based on the response. The board also directed that language be added reserving the right to disqualify a firm based on its litigation history.
Garcia said the RFQ timeline calls for a first advertisement on July 31, a second on Aug. 7, and a closing date of Aug. 14, with board interviews tentatively scheduled around Sept. 8.
Bond Underwriting Team Approved
The board approved 6-0 the selection of an underwriting syndicate for the first tranche of the 2026 bond program, up to $100 million. The recommendation was presented by Dr. De Los Santos of Estrada Hinojosa Financial Advisors.
Samco Capital Markets was selected as senior manager, with Frost, RBC Capital Markets, BOK Financial, and PNC Financial serving as co-managers. Dr. De Los Santos noted that Samco was selected in part because of the firm’s consistent engagement with district leadership throughout the process.
“Samco probably expressed more of an interest in doing business with the school district,” De Los Santos said. “Mr. Kim was in the face of the district visiting with Joel and with Lorena frequently, and presenting numbers all along.”
De Los Santos also announced that McAllen ISD received a bond rating of Aa2 from Moody’s, which he described as the highest rating achievable for a district with the region’s economic profile.
“The district received from Moody’s a rating of Aa2,” De Los Santos said. “Aa2 is probably the highest that we have anywhere in this area for school districts. What they’re saying is no worries, these guys are gonna pay for sure.”
He added that the district has received tentative approval for the state’s triple-A bond guarantee program through the State of Texas, with final approval to come after the bonds are sold. De Los Santos credited Gutiérrez, Garcia, and district finance staff for their performance during the Moody’s rating call.
Trustee Haddad asked about the rationale for assigning lower-ranked firms to the second tranche of approximately $120 million. De Los Santos clarified that the action taken Thursday covers only the first tranche, and that a separate process will be conducted for the second tranche, potentially including a new questionnaire to assess whether any changes in firm qualifications have occurred.
Bond Oversight Committee Created
The board approved 6-0 the creation of a Bond Oversight Committee to provide independent community oversight of the district’s voter-approved bond program. The committee will review bond project progress, expenditures, timelines, and overall implementation to promote transparency and public confidence.
Board members discussed the importance of activating the committee quickly, with several trustees noting that the community had expressed concern about bond-related activity beginning before the oversight structure was in place.
“The community is talking,” one trustee said. “They’re saying, ‘Well, they’re already starting without the bond oversight committee.’ The sooner, the better that we can get them involved.”
Garcia noted that some board members had not yet submitted their two nominations for committee membership, though the board agreed the committee’s creation should not be delayed pending that information.
Personnel Actions
The board approved 6-0 human resources recommendations for the 2026-2027 school year. The board also received for information purposes lists of employee resignations and retirees for both the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years.
Marcos Flores was approved 6-0 as principal of Homer J. Morris Middle School for the 2026-2027 school year. The item for the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School principal recommendation was pulled from the agenda and no action was taken.
Farewell to Dr. De Los Hoyos
Board members took a moment before adjournment to recognize Dr. Rosalba De Hoyos, who was attending her final board meeting after 14 years with McAllen ISD before departing for a leadership role with another district. Trustees offered personal remarks expressing gratitude for her service.
See the story on De Hoyos here.