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 sixth video podcast features McAllen ISD Fine Arts Director Debra Loya who explains how the bond would impact her program. 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 process to identify program needs was lengthy and in-depth, Loya said.
“Our Superintendent and a team were able to tour every single building in the district,” Loya explained. “We gathered quite a bit of data. One of the biggest priorities that came out as a result of those was in the area of fine arts. With that being said, three multi-purpose rooms will be built. And they are not just rooms. They are buildings. They will be housed at McAllen High School, Rowe High School and Memorial (High).”
In McAllen ISD, every elementary child and more than 9,000 secondary students are involved in fine arts programs. Storage space for instruments is also an issue Loya added.
“Because instruments are so expensive, it is extremely important for us to house them appropriately and correctly,” she said. “That involves locker space. There’s all types of things that need to be considered when housing instruments. These systems are not cheap. So, they are not something we can just easily band aid.”
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: The Beat of the District – Fine Arts, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SdtHMT0C4Q&t=1s.
Other podcasts on the 2026 bond will focus on the vision, tax rate, safety, 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/.