Laredo ISD trustees approve budget amendments, personnel reclassifications and hire safety director
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Summary
Laredo ISD trustees on Oct. 16 approved budget adjustments, personnel reclassifications, the internal audit plan and the recommendation to hire a director of safety initiatives; the hire passed 5' amid trustee requests for a workshop on safety and administrative priorities.
Laredo ISD trustees on Oct. 16 approved a slate of routine and action items including budget amendments, personnel reclassifications, the district—s internal audit plan and a recommended hire for a new director of safety initiatives.
The board passed motions on consent agenda items and discrete action items across the meeting. Votes on consent items 1'7 and grouped items 3 and 4 were taken early in the meeting and announced as passed. Separately, trustees approved a budget amendment on agenda item 9 after an amended motion to increase the transfer amount; they also approved reclassifying two vacant positions under item 11 and accepted the internal audit department annual plan under item 13. Later in the meeting the board approved the recommendation to hire a director of safety initiatives, Dr. Eugenio Reyes; the motion passed 5', with one trustee, Dr. Gilberto Martinez Jr., recorded as voting against and one other trustee voting against on the record.
Votes at a glance
- Items 1 and 2: Motion to approve items 1 and 2 (consent). Outcome: approved. Motion and second recorded; no roll-call tallies given in the public record beyond the chair calling for the question and announcing the motion passed.
- Items 3a, 3b, 3c (grouped): Motion to approve these consent items. Outcome: approved.
- Items 4a, 4b, 4c (grouped): Motion to approve these consent items. Outcome: approved.
- Items 5, 6, 7 (grouped): Motion to approve these consent items. Outcome: approved.
- Item 9 (budget amendments): Original amendment read as 2025-26-18, general operating fund, budget amendment $8,777 arising from transfers between functional categories from board discretionary funds. A trustee moved to amend the amount to $13,697 and enumerated allocations including $1,620 for a Martin/Nixon tailgate football event, $2,800 for a memorial mural at a gym, and $500 for Martin JROTC national trip expenses; the board approved the amended amount. Outcome: approved (motion passed after amended motion and a second).
- Item 11 (reclassification of vacant FTEs): Motion to reclassify two vacant positions using federal funds and to change a health assistant position to a licensed vocational nurse at an estimated additional cost of $7,880 funded from grant source 211. Board staff said these are federal-program funds and do not impact the general fund. Outcome: approved.
- Item 13 (internal audit annual plan): Motion to approve the internal audit department—s annual audit plan for fiscal year 2025'2026. Outcome: approved.
- Item 15 (hire: director of safety initiatives): The board took up a recommendation to hire Dr. Eugenio Reyes as director of safety initiatives. After discussion and a request from trustees for a forthcoming board workshop on safety/administration roles, the motion to approve the hire passed 5 for, 2 against. One of the recorded votes against was Dr. Gilberto Martinez Jr., who said he opposed the position on fiscal grounds though not the candidate. Outcome: approved (5-2).
Why it matters
The approvals move several district staffing and spending decisions forward before the end of the fall semester. The hiring of a director of safety initiatives and the presentation of the internal-audit plan come amid focused safety work across Texas school districts; the board also debated how maintenance and capital-improvement responsibilities should be funded, a thread that ran through later discussion of athletics facilities.
Other notes
Board members asked administration to return with additional information where items were not fully developed at the meeting (for example, a presentation on instructional continuity was tabled without a full staff presentation because staff said they were not prepared). Several trustees asked for a future board workshop to discuss administrative priorities and district-level safety roles and funding.
Ending
The meeting included ceremonial recognitions and student features in addition to the business votes. The board adjourned after routine communications and schedule notices for upcoming events.
