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 fourth video podcast features McAllen ISD Police Chief Joey Silva who explains how the bond would impact school safety and security. 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.
“The bond (proposal) has some great things when it comes to security,” Silva said.
One new feature is known as Silent Panic Alert Technology.
“In real time, it notifies first responders what the situation is that’s being reported from within,” Silva said. “It’s also efficient, in the sense that it’s communicating to staff within that particular campus, as to what is transpiring so they take the appropriate action.”
More surveillance cameras of better quality have also been identified as a need. Moving students out of portable buildings to bring all students within the four walls of the main school building is included.
“It’s a multitude of different things … there’s a lot of room for enhancement when it comes to all these particular type of safety measures that we have in place,” Silva said.
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: Protecting our students – Safety & Security, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGgsj7c8r8E.
Other podcasts on the 2026 bond will focus on the vision, tax rate, facility improvements, 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/.