Weslaco ISD board approves monetary report, consent agenda, wage-payment resolution, personnel actions and contingent-fee legal contract

The Weslaco ISD Board of Trustees voted on several agenda items and closed-session recommendations at its Feb. 20 meeting.

• Lone Star Governance monetary report: Trustee Benjamin Castillo moved to approve the Lone Star Governance monetary report for February; Trustee Mark Delos Santos seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously in favor (voice vote recorded as "aye").

• Consent agenda: Trustee Mark Delos Santos moved to approve the consent agenda; Dr. Jaime seconded. The board voted unanimously in favor; the consent agenda included multiple routine contracts and authorizations previously presented in staff reports (see superintendent presentation for the list of projects and recommended engineers/architects).

• Resolution allowing wage payments during emergency closure: Dr. Jaime moved and Mr. Delos Santos seconded a resolution allowing wage payments to district employees during an emergency closure for the remainder of the 2024–25 school year. The motion carried unanimously.

• Personnel matters (as discussed in closed session): The board approved the superintendent's recommendations for contracts for certified and noncontract personnel, accepted resignations and retirements as presented, and authorized hiring substitute assistant principals for vacant positions at Airport Drive, Weslaco High School and Weslaco East. All personnel motions were approved by voice vote with all present board members saying "aye." The actions followed deliberation in closed session under Texas Government Code provisions cited on the agenda.

• Legal matters and contingent-fee contract: The trustees adopted a resolution approving a contingent-fee legal services contract for multi-district litigation relating to youth social media usage and authorized submission of the required findings and a request for expedited review by the Texas attorney general. The resolution named the firms (recorded in the meeting as "Island and Barnett P.C." and "Thompson and Horton LLP"). The motion (moved by Mark Delos Santos, second by Coach Armando Cuellar) passed by unanimous voice vote. During the roll call a board member clarified he had no financial interest in the case and disclosed his firm's representation of other districts in related litigation; the board proceeded with the vote.

• Melva Segura v. Weslaco ISD: The board approved the recommendation discussed in closed session on the pending court matter (captioned in the meeting record as Melva Segura v. Weslaco ISD, Hidalgo County), moving as recommended in executive session; the motion carried unanimously.

All recorded motions were made in open session where required; several personnel and legal deliberations occurred in closed session under the Texas Government Code sections referenced on the agenda. No roll-call tallies with individual yes/no names were recorded in the open transcript; votes were taken by voice and the chair announced the motions carried.