At a March 30 workshop trustees reviewed employee‑benefit committee recommendations to add an HMO, a PPO base and a PPO buy‑up and to retain the district broker; presenters said the package would increase district funding from about $22.8 million to $26.8 million and could avert larger deficits if adopted, while trustees demanded vendor presentations and monthly monitoring of insurance spending.
At a March 30 budget workshop district staff reported a projected $13 million deficit for 2025–26, citing lower TEA allotments and enrollment declines; trustees questioned past revenue assumptions, rolled‑over salary costs and requested detailed backup, amendments and options for 2026–27.
Weslaco ISD trustees heard detailed plans for a new agricultural facility, including renderings, pen layouts and classrooms; trustees and community members pressed staff and the architect on ventilation, pen sizes, a roughly $2 million bid gap between firms and how the district will fund the project.
Trustees voted to engage Region 1 for technical support, ask the external auditor to reverify prior fund balances and authorized administrators to seek a quote from forensic firm Weaver after trustees raised concerns about falling fund balances and accounting accuracy.
Superintendent Richard Rivera reported enrollment declines affecting state funding, projected multi-million-dollar shortfalls in the district's self-funded health plan, and described bond-funded projects including demolition of an old gym and a new ag farm slated for 2027.
Trustees celebrated student achievements across academics and athletics and accepted a $59,732.50 grant from the Knapp Community Care Foundation to the Weslaco High FCCLA chapter to build a toddler playscape at Gibson Park.
Board members raised concerns that several campuses have far higher student-to-counselor ratios than peers — examples cited include one campus with about 639 students per counselor — and asked administration and finance committee to explore adding counselors in this or next year’s budget.
Weslaco ISD trustees voted to approve a one‑time $1,000 retention stipend for staff to be paid in December, even as the superintendent warned of enrollment declines, multi‑million dollar insurance shortfalls and rising substitute costs and trustees ordered a fuller budget review and audit figures for Monday.
At a special meeting, the WESLACO ISD Board of Trustees held a closed hearing on a level-3 grievance filed by Monica Martinez and, following a return to open session, voted to uphold the administrations level-2 finding. Trustees emphasized following district policy while expressing personal support for the employee.
At its regular meeting the board voted to table Lone Star Governance items until December, cast 56 appraisal‑district votes for Joe Olivares, approved competitive sealed-proposal procurement criteria for fine‑arts projects, authorized negotiation of an architect contract with ERO, and approved routine consent items and hiring recommendations after a closed session.
