Trustees seek forensic review after concerns about multi‑year fund balances

The WESLACO ISD Board of Trustees voted to seek cost estimates for an independent forensic review after trustees said monthly fund-balance reports and accounting for recent years raised unresolved questions. The board approved a motion to engage Region 1 for technical support, ask the district’s external auditor to review recent budget numbers and authorize the board president and superintendent to negotiate a fee with Weaver to present a scope and cost to the board.

Trustee Ben Castillo made the motion and Trustee Marco De Los Santos seconded it; the motion passed after debate over scope and cost. As Trustee De Los Santos put it during the discussion: "You're gonna have to explain how you went from $65,000,000 to the thirties within just 2 years." Board members said the step to request bids and a firm quote is intended to provide facts for a possible special meeting and to give the board and the public a clear accounting of how fund balances changed over time.

Administrators said the district currently carries a fund balance reported as a 91‑day balance for 2024‑25 and that work is underway to reconcile accounting for fiscal year 25‑26, which staff described as "behind" in its internal processing. Several trustees emphasized they wanted a narrow, targeted scope that would reverify prior year's balances and identify whether errors or process breakdowns — rather than fraud — caused problems; others argued a forensic review is appropriate to restore public confidence. The board directed staff to obtain quotes and return to the trustees with cost estimates and a proposed scope.