McAllen, McAllen ISD, Board of Trustees, Teacher Incentive Allotment, School Library Advisory Council
Staff Report
McAllen TX - Four McAllen ISD teachers addressed the Board of Trustees during public comment at the Sept. 22 meeting, raising concerns about the district’s administration of the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which they said altered student growth targets after results were already known, lowering their standing under the program.
Public Comments on Teacher Incentive Allotment
Jorge Herrera, a biology teacher at Marquez, said the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment, or TIA, program measures teacher observations and student growth to identify highly effective teachers and generate additional state funding. Herrera said the district’s TIA department informed teachers in August, after the school year’s data had already been collected, that new growth targets had been established using undisclosed data and committee decisions. Herrera said his own data showed 100% of his students met or exceeded expected growth, but that percentage dropped to approximately 44% under the district’s revised targets. “How can the district’s success... be celebrated when the district changes our goals, effectively altering our results to now show that we’re insufficient?” Herrera said, citing statewide data showing only 0.04% of biology STAAR test-takers earn a perfect score. Herrera asked the district to use the original targets established before results were known, and to allow teachers to opt out of the TIA program.
Mariana de los Santos, a Spanish teacher at the IB program at Lamar Academy, said her assessment showed 100% of her students met or exceeded their growth targets, but that her reported growth dropped to 33% after the district changed targets to require the majority of students to reach the highest possible rating on a five-point scale. “The growth is real,” de los Santos said. “I would like to propose that our true data be submitted and that we challenge the state to verify it.”
A third teacher, identified as Angelese Johnson, said 92% of her students met growth targets she had set, but that the district’s revised calculation reduced that figure to 33%. Johnson said the new district-created targets require nearly 90% of students to demonstrate “well above typical” growth. “The data you created conveys your teachers’ inability to set feasible goals and ineffective instructional practices,” Johnson said. “Is that a true reflection of the quality of your educators?”
Juan Osuna, an English teacher at Lamar Academy’s IB program, said 52% of his students were required to earn a perfect score on the English I STAAR exam in order to demonstrate growth under the district’s calculation, despite many of his students already scoring well on their beginning-of-year assessment. Osuna cited state data showing only 13% of students statewide earn the “masters” designation on STAAR exams. Osuna said 65% of his students earned the masters designation this year, the highest rate of his career, but that his calculated TIA growth rate was only 15%, compared to an estimated 88% growth rate using a simple before-and-after comparison. “I ask, if possible, to again reconsider how growth is measured as part of our TIA,” Osuna said.
Proclamations
The board recognized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation declaring October 2026 as Dyslexia Awareness Month, read by Trustee Sofia Peña, and recognized students, teachers and principals from five elementary campuses.
The board also adopted its own proclamation declaring October 2026 as Down Syndrome Awareness Month, recognizing students, teachers and special education staff from multiple campuses across the district.
School Library Advisory Council Report
Drew Lentz, chair of the district’s School Library Advisory Council, presented an annual report on the council’s activities. Lentz said the council recommended more than 800 new library titles last year and an additional 1,165 titles this month, and adopted a policy against bulk removal or addition of books, instead reviewing titles individually.
Lentz noted that McAllen ISD is one of approximately 43 school districts statewide, and one of two in South Texas, with an active library advisory council under state Senate Bill 14. He referenced recent statements by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposing that districts’ accountability ratings could be affected by library holdings. “If the state asks McAllen ISD what it’s doing about its libraries, the answer isn’t a promise or a guess. It’s a record,” Lentz said.
Lentz asked the board to appoint replacement voting and non-voting council members before the council’s term ends Dec. 11, to formally affirm the district’s existing library policy exhibit, and encouraged trustees to personally tour school libraries. The board approved the appointment of a new voting council member following the presentation.
Policy and Personnel Items
The board approved an update to board policy BJCF (Local), governing superintendent nonrenewal, recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards to bring the district into compliance with Senate Bill 12 ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
The board reviewed, on first reading, proposed updates to board policy CFB (Local), which would raise the district’s capital asset classification threshold from $5,000 to $10,000, and a broader Texas Association of School Boards localized policy manual update.
The board approved a required Senate Bill 12 compliance certification regarding annual reporting and trustee information requirements.
The board approved the 2026-2027 list of certified Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System appraisers, adding four newly certified administrators.
The board approved the recommendation of Christian Quintanilla as associate superintendent for instructional services for the 2026-2027 school year, following closed session.
Other Business
The board received an update confirming completion of a parking lot project at Dorothea Brown Middle School funded through a City of McAllen Community Development Block Grant, with an administrative extension needed only to align contract dates between the city and the district.
The board approved minutes from its Sept. 8 regular meeting and its standard consent agenda.
Following closed session, the board approved human resources recommendations for the 2026-2027 school year. No action was taken regarding school safety and security, pending litigation, or real estate acquisition.
Scheduled Meetings
The board scheduled special meetings for Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. and Sept. 28 at noon, and its next regular meeting for Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m., all in the Dr. J.A. Gonzalez Chapa Boardroom of the Administration Building.