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Board extends school‑district legal services; public commenter urged competitive review
Summary
After a public speaker urged the board to seek new legal counsel and questioned invoices, trustees voted to renew the district's legal counsel contract for two years. The board discussed alternatives during the meeting but ultimately approved a two‑year extension.
WESLACO — The Weslaco ISD Board faced public criticism of its legal counsel invoices before voting to renew the district’s legal counsel contract for an additional two years.
During public comment Diana Garza told the board she had reviewed invoices and asked why the district was paying outside firms in addition to its main legal counsel for investigative work. "Vote no to extending contract and search for legal counsel that is reasonable and is well versed in school law," Garza told trustees in public comment, citing specific invoice totals she said had been billed earlier in the year.
Board discussion and action: Trustees debated whether to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) for board legal counsel or to extend the incumbent contract. At the meeting a motion was made to renew and extend the contract for legal services for two years. The motion was seconded and the board voted to approve the extension; the chair announced the motion carried.
What the board said: Trustees who supported the extension cited the lawyer’s past work for the district during prolonged, high‑profile reviews and said the counsel had provided services at rates below market while producing substantial written work the district used for investigations and submissions to state authorities. Trustees who asked for a competitive process said periodic review of legal providers can be appropriate; one trustee recommended seeking RFQs in the future, but the board did not adopt that route at the meeting.
Authority and process: The item was considered on the agenda as a governance/consent item under the board’s authority to contract for legal services; the board later took the item up and voted in open session. A public commenter had asked the board to publish invoices and investigation results; board members noted some investigative work involves personnel or other confidential matters that may be subject to legal or personnel confidentiality.
Outcome: The board approved the two‑year extension of the district’s legal counsel contract. Trustees directed staff to continue standard oversight of legal expenditures. The board did not direct staff to release any confidential investigative documents at the meeting.
Ending: Several trustees expressed that the district should periodically evaluate outside providers and competitive bids generally, and some said they supported the idea of an RFQ at a later date; the immediate action was approval of the two‑year extension.
