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Weslaco ISD trustees approve December $1,000 retention stipend for staff
Summary
The Weslaco ISD Board of Trustees approved a one‑time $1,000 retention stipend for all district staff to be paid in December; trustees approved the stipend by voice vote while flagging budget shortfalls, enrollment declines and pending audited results.
The Weslaco ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve a one‑time $1,000 retention stipend for all staff to be paid in December, the board president announced after a voice vote. Coach Armando Cuellar moved the measure and Ben Castillo seconded; the chair declared the motion passed.
Superintendent Doctor Rivera told trustees the stipend had already been included in the district's compensation plan but raised several budget pressures that prompted caution, including a drop of more than 300 students and health insurance deficits. Doctor Rivera said the stipend applies only to December, and trustees discussed an updated total cost for that payout of roughly $2.8 million. "But the stipend is only for December," Doctor Rivera said. "There will be no May stipend." (Doctor Rivera, SEG 425–426)
The vote was taken by voice; the transcript does not record an roll‑call tally of individual yes/no votes. Trustee Mark Delos Santos strongly objected to approving additional pay without first resolving alleged inaccuracies in previous budgets and urged a forensic audit. "I will resign if I'm wrong and I'm not," Delos Santos said as he pressed his concern about the district's payroll exposure. (Mark Delos Santos, SEG 215)
Doctor Rivera acknowledged he should have discussed the stipend with the board earlier and accepted responsibility for the confusion that followed a letter to staff. "I should have done this, discussed with the board at the last board meeting, but I did not," the superintendent said. (Doctor Rivera, SEG 695)
The board said staff and administration will present more detailed financial figures and the anticipated auditor report at the next meeting; trustees also indicated they will revisit budget items and any projects drawing on savings.
