By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the PRESS
A Garriga Elementary staff member urged Point Isabel ISD trustees Sept. 15 to keep the campus principal in place after saying the school had been without its principal on site for 14 days.
During public comment, Rosa Cantu, a Garriga staff member, told trustees Garriga had been sharing an assistant principal with another elementary campus during the principal’s absence. Cantu said Garriga had the assistant principal three days a week, which she described as half-day coverage.
“We have been without a principal for 14 days,” Cantu told the board.
Cantu said the principal had returned to Garriga earlier that day and praised her leadership. She also referenced rumors that principals could be switched between campuses and asked trustees not to move Garriga’s principal.
No explanation for the principal’s absence or any possible campus leadership changes was provided during the public-comment portion of the meeting.
Trustees later approved changes to the district’s 2026-2027 compensation plan, including a separate pay scale for teachers who are not fully certified. Under the revised plan, those teachers will be paid $1,000 less than fully certified new hires. Administration said the change follows a recommendation from the Texas Association of School Boards.
The board also increased the substitute rate for paraprofessionals working in special education Life Skills and behavioral intervention classrooms from $80 to $90 per day. Administration said the lower rate had made those assignments difficult to fill. The increase brings the rate in line with substitute pay for regular classrooms.
The renewal of an engineering-services agreement also drew questions from trustees.
One trustee questioned why the district continued renewing its geotechnical engineering, materials testing and surveying services agreement instead of putting the work out for bid. Administration clarified that the agreement is not tied to a single company. It gives the district a pool of four pre-qualified vendors it can call on as projects come up, and this renewal covers the third of four years the district can extend that arrangement before it would need to solicit new proposals.
Staff said the arrangement originated during the district’s bond-construction period to help prevent delays when those services were required. Administration said the district currently has no major construction planned and indicated that, if the agreement were not renewed, future engineering work could be brought back to the board case by case. Trustees approved the renewal.
Trustees also approved a 12-month agreement with Galindo Auctions LLC for auctioneer services involving surplus district furniture.
District officials said campuses had received new furniture, leaving tables, chairs, shelving and other items the district no longer needed. Before the planned online auction, the district scheduled its warehouse to open to the public Sept. 22 from 3 to 6 p.m., giving local churches, businesses and community groups an opportunity to purchase items at fair market value rather than through bulk auction lots. Officials said any items that did not sell that day would move to the online auction.
The board also renewed its memorandum of understanding with the Cameron County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program for 2026-2027 and approved a $4,200 renewal of Region One Education Service Center’s E-rate consulting services.
Most other consent-agenda items passed together, including budget amendments and Child Nutrition purchases for the district’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
Under the district’s regular meeting schedule, the Point Isabel ISD Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet again Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the Central Administration Building Board Room, 101 Port Road in Port Isabel.