001I now call to order the regular meeting of the Rio Grande City Guru ISD School Board. The time is 5:30 p.m. This meeting was properly posted on January 15, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. We will begin with roll call. Um, Mr. Rene Pñena, >> present. >> Mr. Eddie Ramirez, >> present. >> Mr. Mr. Noi Castillo, >> absent. Miss Paty Garcia >> present. >> Mr. Jesse Solis >> present. >> Mr. Vasilio Dier Jr. >> present. >> And Miss Walupe Gara >> present. Thank you. Now we will move on to the invocation led by Mr. Pña. >> Let's go ahead and bow our heads. Dear heavenly father, Lord, we just want to thank you father for having us here this afternoon. Father, we thank you for uh the parents and the children that are represent our district uh
002this afternoon. Father, we ask you that you bless them and you continuing continue continue opening doors of opportunity and success for them. Father, we ask you to bless our school board that we're all at the right mindset and that we move our district forward in a positive manner. We ask all these things in your name. Amen. >> Thank you. And now, the pledge of allegiance led by Mr. Eddie Ramirez. I pledge allegiance >> to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> All right, Miss uh Miss Garza, recognitions. >> Madame President, before we begin, we want to acknowledge that this month is a school board appreciation month. and I can sit up
003here and you can hear it from me uh on behalf of the district uh letting you all know how much we appreciate you all. But what better way to hear it than from our students. So as our students come forward, they will be um talking about the items that you have in the boxes, your gift boxes. >> Okay. Oh, I think we put them down there. I was like, where are they? I think you have them down there, sir. Our students will be talking a little bit about that and showing how much we appreciate you. You got this, boys and girls. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you for helping us love learning. Thank you for Thank you for Thank you for feel safe, happy and careful. >> The pad foil represents leadership.
004Inside it are decisions big and small that shape our schools every day. Those decisions help our classroom stay strong and help students like me grow. Thank you for choosing what is best for students. >> The pen represents your voice. Your voice brings clarity and helps our community understand decisions. Thank you for listening, speaking honestly, and leading with transparency. The crystal clock represents time. It reflects the hours you give to meetings, planning, and important conversations. Your time helps make sure that our district stays strong and responsible. Thank you for giving your time to serve our community. The gift card represents appreciation. It is a thank you for the care you show to our students, staff, and families every day. Thank you for leading with heart and responsibility. This year, your leadership has brought clarity and direction
005to our district. Because of your work, our schools are more focused, our goals are clear, and students like me feel prepared for what comes next. The items in your gift box represent leadership, voice, time, and care. Together, they reflect a board that understands the responsibility of public service and chooses to lead with integrity, transparency, and purpose. Our future is public because every decision is made for every student. Real quick, another round of applause for every one of our students. Ladies and gentlemen, did a tremendous job. Now, if we can get our board members to get a picture with our students. else. >> Anyone else want to take any pictures? Okay, thank you very much. >> All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to go ahead and move on to our recognitions, beginning with Dr. Mario
006Ramirez, Elementary. Good afternoon, school board president, board members, and superintendent. My name is Adriana Gera Gonzalez, and I am the proud principal at Dr. Mario Ramirez Elementary. It is with great pride to announce that our Diamondback cheerleaders proudly represented our campus as its game day competition held at Edinburg High School on Sunday, January 11th. The DMR cheer team earned second place in their category and was also honored as an atlarge national champion. An outstanding achievement that reflects their hard work, dedication, and school spirit. We are incredibly proud of our cheerleaders for representing Dr. Mario E. Ramirez with excellence and pride. Our cheer team members are Isabella Avalo, Olivia Ardondo, Arlet Calvio, Captain Alana Diaz, Jayen Flores, Monserat Gara, Valentina Gara, Himea Gomez, Briana Gonzalez, Olivia Gonzalez, co- captain, Leilani Harrison, Isarelli Rios, Angelique Sanchez, McKenzie
007Cernna, Alina Vanessia, co- captain, Noni Vera Freda Varel Giana Suniga and our sponsors are Miss Blue Soliss Alma Castro Oette Cortez and Annabelia Torres we say HELLO You think you see the best, but we're here to show you with an A L L the mighty red and black. Say hello. >> Amazing job. Can we get ladies, girls? Can we get a picture with our board members before you all leave? Let me see if I can stairs. >> Can we get the coaches? Any parents want to take any pictures? Another big round of applause for Dr. Mario Ramdes. Thank you to our principal, to the sponsors, and the amazing work of our cheerleaders. >> Thank you, cheerleaders. Awesome job. Coming up next, we have General Ricardo Sanchez Elementary. Good evening, school board members, uh, Superintendent Mrs.
008Garam, and, uh, everyone in attendance. So, this after this evening, I want to go ahead and recognize our elementary, uh, robotics teams. We do want to recognize these campuses for their outstanding accomplishments of our elementary school robotics teams whose dedication, teamwork, and innovation exemplify excellence in STEM education. They recently competed at region 1 on January 11th and made our school district very very proud. I'm going to go ahead and introduce Miss Jesse de la Cruz for General Ricardo Sanchez Elementary and then I'll follow up with each team's award. Good evening madame president, board members Lupe Gara, superintendent of schools. I am honored and beyond proud of these eight students who competed on Saturday. They were there bright and early. The bus took off at 6:00 in the morning. They were there until 300 p.m. in
009the afternoon. And it was interesting. I had never been to a robotics competition. And I got to say, it did require a lot of teamwork. I didn't know they were supposed to work with other schools. So, I'm also proud of every school within this district that went to compete. Now, um they worked tirelessly over the Christmas break. Our equipment came in kind of late, but uh despite that adversity, they did receive several awards, and Miss Carmona will mention that here shortly. And our students are Mateo Losano, Mariana Pena, Ryan Santa Maria, Victoria Devay, Andrea Erraa, Skyler Martin, Sophia Garcia, Garcia, Nylen Moreno, and are coached by Judith Rodriguez, and Amando Garcia. Good job, guys. So, General Ricardo Sanchez Elementary did receive several distinctive awards. They received the teamwork challenge champion award for the entire competition.
010This showed exceptional collaboration, strategy, and performance. They also received the judges design award as well as a skill award. This recognizes their excellence in robot design, engineering skill, and technical execution. They did receive the overall first place champions at this competition. Do want to recognize as well three students for the skill award that stood out. If you can step forward, we have Mateo Losano, Ryan Santa Maria, and Sophia Garcia. Next we have Alberto Ancelia Bar Elementary, Mr. Armando Gutierrez. >> Good evening, Madame President, Miss Ga, superintendent, board members. So this is Alberto and Sia Baretta Elementary Robotics team. Students are Stephanie Bennanc Court, Kayla Devoske, Marisa Felix, Adani Lopez, Cassandra Martinez, Javier Aguilar, Na Gil, Kelli Lucas, Louisa Seedo, Roberto Mononttoya, coached by Miss Sandra Guerrero, and assistant coach Monnique Selenas. The practice that this
011team put in really came out and showed it and displayed its uh we got first place. also we shared with Sanchez and teamwork and this competition was all about working together like Mr. Lacru said and in teamwork. Thank you. Very proud. So I am presenting Mr. Gutierrez the uh certificate for teamwork challenge champion award along with General Ricardo Sanchez Elementary. Alberto as well came out as first place overall champions at this competition. We will next have Alto Bonito Elementary, Mr. Jose Noa. Uh good evening uh madame president uh board members uh superintendent of schools uh Mrs. Lupita Gara uh ladies and gentlemen uh I want to introduce our Altoanito Elementary Robo Runners. Uh I'm very proud of our students because of you know the getting to an event that has never existed before in our
012school district. uh going into the unknown but at the same time coming out of the other side uh for second place overall for the very first time. Uh it was a learning experience from the morning uh to the end of the day and I'm very proud of them because they kept on learning as the day went along. So, uh, with that being said, uh, team members are Abigo Gonzalez, some are not here, I'm sorry, uh, Jaden Garca, Jordan Selenas, Xavier Perez, Juan Martinez, Rebecca Garcia, Jose Garcia, and Dylan Ramirez. And there are coached by Miss Linda Pñena that couldn't be here because she stayed back dedicated in tutorials. >> So, I am presenting Mr. No, and his team the second place overall uh place at the VEX robotics competition at region one. Next we have
013Guru Elementary, Mr. Damro Bera. >> Good evening, Madame President, board members, and superintendent of schools, Miss Gara. Uh it's with great pride and excitement that I share with you a special milestone with our school, our first ever robotics team. And at this time, I'd like to call on the team members to come and join us. Judy Pñena, Noah Lopez, Eel Gonzalez, Samantha Garcia, Eloise Garcia, Mario Marquez, Milan Boenegra, Zeleni Trevinho, >> Victor Garca, congratulations, >> Gabriel Arispe, and our team is coached by our science teacher, Miss Veronica Barrera. >> Congratulations. you want to take it with you. So, Mr. Per is getting his second place overall uh certificate. Congratulations, Gria Elementary. Next we have John and Olivinoa Elementary principal Mrs. Mary Lou Garcia. >> Good evening members of the board and guests. Today we would
014like to take a moment to recognize our outstanding robotics team, the Crimson Crushers. Our students competed with heart, determination, and pride, giving it their all every step of the way. The excitement and confidence on their faces truly reflected the work, hard work, teamwork, and perseverance they put into this experience. This their success would not have been possible without the dedication and guidance of their coach. We extend our heartfelt thank you for the outstanding job in preparing, motivating, and supporting our students throughout this journey. We're incredibly proud of our Crimson Crushers and the way they represented our school and community. Please join me in congratulating them on a job well done. Our students are Galilea Leal, Adeline Variel, Mateo Pñena, Joanna Arredondo, Elisa Chak, Alana Salenas, Misa Pena, Isaiah Alanise, Alexander Subia, and their coach, Jesus
015Variel. and John and Olive Eno Elementary received a third place at the competition as well. I do want to add sorry I do want to add that all five of our teams are advancing to the regional championship on March 10th where they will take the top one team hopefully fingers crossed they they can extend to three teams uh to world finals in St. Louis Missouri, but they did get first, second, and third. So, odds are in their favor. So, I do want to commend the principles, the coaches, students, and the parents for the collaboration and teamwork. >> Good evening, Dr. Barera, members of the board, and Miss Wala Lupe Gara. I am Miss Rios, the very proud principal of Guya Middle School. This evening, I would like to take a moment to recognize and congratulate
016our eighth grade baseball team and head coach, Hell Loa, for the 2025 2026 district champions. Throughout the season, these young men demonstrated true resilience, determination, and an unwavering commitment to the program. We also extend a heartfelt thank you to the parents for supporting their sons every step of the way. Our mighty crane baseball team is made up of Dante Alanise, Jesse Castillo, Eden Garcia, Jeremiah Garcia, Hiel Garca, Sebastian Garca, Royel Gasca Jr., Israel Gomez, Ezekiel Gomez III, Alejandro Iara Jr. Liam Lorine, Rolando Marquez, JC Olivera, Elvis Perez III, Pedro Rosales, Eric Seal Jr., Alexis Varal, Isa Variel, and our coach, Coach Hel Osuna. Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thank you very much to everyone. Up next, we're going to bring up Real Grandandy City High School. We're going to do the >> Good evening, Miss
017Lupe Gara, superintendent of school and school board members. I am the proud principal of Ray Grand City High School and I would like to formally recognize our d a dedicated group of students who exemplify service and commitment regardless of the weather, the day, the night, the game, the competition or the volunteer work, they're there. And I think that exemplifies what we're all about. School spirit, integrity, and gas to keep moving forward. Thank you, Jotc, for everything you do. We're so proud of the individuals you are, and we're so proud you're part of our Rattler nation. Okay, coming up next, ladies and gentlemen, Good evening once again. So the next recognition, we do have high school achievements on the College Board AP Scholar Honor Role. So our district RDCGISD proudly recognizes its high schools for earning
018distinctions on the 2025 College Board AP school honor role, which honors schools for expanding access to advanced placement coursework while supporting student success and college readiness. The AP school honor role evaluates schools across three key focus areas. One, college culture. Two, college credit. And three, college optimization. We want to recognize the following campuses for their distinctions. Guya High School received a bronze distinction in college optimization, recognizing its efforts to support student participation in AP courses while promoting an academically balanced pathway to college. Principal Mrs. Delma Martinez. We next have real Grande City High School, who earned a silver distinction in college optimization, reflecting its commitment to strategically guiding students through AP coursework in a way that maximizes college readiness and long-term success. Principal Miss Mariel Monteor and her staff And last but not least, we
019have Preparatory for Early College High School that achieved a platinum distinction. ction in college culture, a platinum distinction in college credit, and a gold distinction in college optimization with recognitions across all three focus areas. Preparatory for Early College High School earned an elite distinction as a 2025 AP school honor role campus, demonstrating exceptional performance in expanding access, supporting achievement, and preparing students for post-secary success. Congratulations, Early College High School. Again, thank you. And these honors reflect the district's continued commitment to academic excellence, equitable access to rigorous coursework, and intentional college preparation for all students. Thank you to all high school principles, administration, and AP teachers. >> Thank you very much. We have one more recognition. At this time, I bring up Miss Marisa Aguilar. Good evening, board president, members of the board, Miss Wadal Lupe
020Garca, Superintendent. We would like to proudly recognize Miss Carla Reondo and Mrs. Meralda Basan from Early Childhood Academy for their outstanding representation of Rio Granny City Gurua ISD at the 30th annual RGB Tavet Texas Association for Bilingual Education Conference that was held January 16th and 17th in South Padre Island. Miss Arredondo and Miss Basan presented two highly impactful sessions titled Postcoid Teaching Resilience Renewal and Best Practices and Empowering Educators: Strategies for Thriving Bilingual Classrooms. Both sessions were completely full, reflecting the strong interest and respect they have earned among educators across the region. Participants shared very positive feedback. We are extremely proud of Miss Arredondo and Miss Basan for showcasing the excellence, innovation, and leadership that exists within our district. We sincerely thank them for their dedication to our students and for representing RGC GISD. Also,
021Miss Lorena Trevinho, please come forward for the picture. All right. Thank you everybody and congratulations to everyone. Do we have any public comments on agenda items? No. Thank you. >> All right. For consent agenda, um items listed on this agenda were previously discussed and presented at the board workshop. At this time, can I have a motion to approve consent agenda items A through L? >> Madam President, go ahead. Go ahead, Madam President. So move as present consent agendas. >> I'll second it. >> All right. All those in favor, raise your right hand. And motion passes. Section eight, action items. Office of Human Resources action action item AI. >> 8 AI. Consider and take possible action on US prep learning tour on teacher residency. >> Good evening, Madam President, members of the board. Miss Gatsa, superintendent
022schools. On this item, we respectfully ask for two administrators. I know there's names on the u on the decision-making form, but just for the record, we'd like to say two administrators to attend the US Prep uh tour of teaching residency in Arkansas. And as required, we must come to the board when it's out of state. So, this is no cost to the district. It's uh budget neutral and we're asking for two slots for two administrators from the district to attend this learning tour and teacher residency in Arkansas. >> Thank you. >> Can I have a motion to approve item 8 as presented? So, Madam President, >> can I have a second? >> Second. >> Any other questions or discussion? If not, all those in favor raise your right hand. >> A motion passes. Curriculum and
023instruction item ABI. Consider and take possible action RGC GISD special education student activity spring 2026. >> Good evening, Dr. Vera, school board president, board members, Miss Gualupe GarcA, superintendent of schools. Ladies and gentlemen, uh during the spring semester, students in the special educ or spiritual services department will participate in a variety of activities designed to promote social development, inclusion, and real world experiences. These activities um include attending our special Olympics, participating in our annual Easter egg hunt for life skill students, joining our disability awareness walk alongside neighboring districts, and concluding the year with an end of the year field trip for our units. Each event supports student social skills, independence, and community engagement while reinforcing the district's commitment to inclusive opportunities for all learners. I do want to make a note that our Special Olympics
024this year will take place in Edinburg ISD. >> Thank you. >> All right. Any questions or discussion? >> If I may, Mr. Getto, whatever you need honestly from the board when it comes to these activities are phenomenal. They're very I mean such a classic thing to do. Yes. >> Can I have a motion to approve item as presented? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any other questions, discussion? All those in favor raise your right hand. And motion passes. Item 8B. I I consider to possible action on RGC GISD high school end of the year events. >> Good evening everyone. Before you you have the proposed budget for the end of the year activities for the class of 2026. These are all the activities that are held by the district. The top 10% banquet, the top
02510 breakfast and everything that goes for the graduations, AP banquet, decision day, all the end of the year events for the three high schools that are combined. >> And the cost have stayed about the same pretty much, right? We just went up a little bit because uh last year Miss Miss Gara had to increase for the for the laptop. So I included the increase so we be okay. >> That was for gifts for gifts to the Okay. >> Uh I move madam president. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Any other questions or discussion? All those in favor raise your right hand and motion passes. >> Thank you. Item AB I I I consider and take possible action on high school curriculum leads. >> Good evening once again. So, this proposal seeks to
026designate high school teachers as lead curriculum teachers, much like what we already have um with our elementary and our middle school. Now, we're moving into the high school uh for the sole reason to collaborate, review, update, and refine district curriculum timelines to improve coherence and instructional quality moving forward >> for purposes of determining who gets lead. Is there I'm sure there's a criteria for determining who's chosen for lead. So we want to we look at each uh content area and each grade level. So in the proposal you see we have English 1, English 2, English 3, four, the four Englishes, the four math, social studies and science. So it's the teachers that are in those um positions who are interested in applying and then we evaluate and then we have also met with high school
027principles to get their recommendation. >> Perfect. >> All right. Can I have a motion to approve item as presented? >> So I'll move. >> Second. All right. All those in favor raise your right hand and motion passes. >> Thank you. We now move on to section 9, executive session for items A through D as listed on the posted agenda under Texas government code sections 551071-76 and 551082 through84. The time is now 607 p.m. And we're moving to executive session. Ready? All right. Uh, the time is now 6:48 p.m. and we are open and open se back in open session. May I have a motion for items B, C, and D? >> Madam President, I move we approve item 10, B, C, and D as discussed in executive session. >> All right. All those in favor,
028raise your right hand. >> Second. >> I'm sorry. Second, Mr. Pena. And all those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Now, public comments on non-aggenda items. None. Thank you. And any closing um business, Miss GarcA? Yes, ma'am. I have just one announcement. We do have our UIL District Elementary meet this Saturday at Alberto Encel. And we want to wish all our students the best of luck. And I also want to announce tonight's uh recommendations. We have for Gria Middle School counselor, Miss Roxanna Castillo. Gura Middle School Gear Up facilitator, we have Ani Guerrero. Congratulations for Ringo Middle School gear up facilitator, we have Karisa Vasan. Congratulations. And then for Veterans Middle School uh gear up facilitator, we have Ugo Alberto Garcia. Congratulations to you all. Thank you. Congratulations to everyone. >> Anything else?
029That's it. All right. The time is 6:49 p.m. If there's no further items on the agenda, I now declare this meeting adjourned. Thank you and have a great evening. Thank you.