To better assist the public in making an informed decision, McAllen ISD has created a series of podcasts on the upcoming bond election. These podcasts explain different aspects of the bond in bite-sized chunks.
The third video podcast features McAllen ISD Executive Director for Facilities, Maintenance & Operations Ruben Trevino who explains how the bond would impact school facilities. The bond proposal is for $335 million and will address facility upgrades, program expansions, safety, security and modernizing learning spaces across the district. Early voting runs April 20-28 and the Election Day is May 2.
“We currently have 16 campuses that are on the list for our bond proposal to include HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) improvements,” Trevino said. “This will include either new chiller plants, replacement of chillers, or any individualized units, such as rooftop units or air handling units as well.”
Parking lot expansions are also part of the proposal. McAllen ISD has utilized educational facilities consultants plus a committee of staff, parents, partners and community members (known as the Facilities Forecast Advisory Committee) which examined the data and identified areas of critical need.
“We have 14 to 16 campuses that are on our bond proposal that will be receiving either a resurfacing, repaving or any parking-lot expansions that would be needed based on the individual campus,” Trevino said. “This will be addressing our drainage as well in our parking lots.”
Modernized lighting is also a key component for the proposal.
“We’re looking to do a complete LED (lighting) retrofit throughout the district that will include our LED lighting components on the interior of our buildings, along with the exterior,” Trevino explained. “That will include some additional lighting for safety purposes on the exterior of our buildings and will also include athletic facilities as well. This would potentially yield in the area of 25 to 30 percent of savings that would come back to the district.”
McAllen ISD’s periodic podcast is called Extra Credit. Each episode features McAllen ISD Marketing and Communications Director Felicia Villarreal as the host with a guest. They discuss topics of interest to the McAllen ISD community.
The district anticipates that the current overall tax rate of $0.93 will remain at $0.93, and that an increase to the overall tax rate to support the bond is not anticipated.
The full episode, which is called McAllen ISD Extra Credit: Infrastructure & Comfort - HVAC/Lighting, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR3ubTuh8AE.
Other podcasts on the 2026 bond will focus on the vision, tax rate, safety, program improvements and election information. They are available to view on McAllen ISD’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
More information on the bond can be found here: https://www.mcallenisdbond.org/.