Texas Border Business
The McAllen Independent School District will join 1,025 school districts throughout Texas to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month.
“Our school board members provide leadership and oversight for our school district,” McAllen ISD Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez, Ed.D., said. “They focus on the success of the children in our district all year round. Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is when we thank them for all they do.”
Board members serving McAllen ISD are: Marco Suarez, President; Sam Saldivar, Jr., Vice-President; Conrado Alvarado, Secretary; Debbie Crane Aliseda, Trustee; Larry Esparza, Trustee; Tony Forina, Trustee; and Daniel Vela, Trustee.
Serving as a link between the community and classroom, school board members are elected to establish the policies that provide the framework for public schools. The McAllen ISD board is responsible for an annual budget of nearly $283 million, 22,500 students, 3,400 employees, and 31 campuses.
Some of the recent major accomplishments and recognitions include:
- Earning the state’s highest accountability rating, an “A,” in 2018 and 2019.
- McAllen ISD high schools being ranked among America’s best schools by either US News & World Report or The Washington Post for the fifth straight year. All five were ranked by US News & World Report in spring 2019.
- Earning the state’s Post-Secondary Readiness Distinction three straight years (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20)
- Earning the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (School FIRST) for the 16th time in 17 years with a perfect score in the last eight years.
- Earning Top 5 in state in the H-E-B Excellence in Education awards for Outstanding School Board, spring 2019.
- McAllen ISD being named a national Best Community for Music Education for the seventh straight year, placing the district among the nation’s top 4% of school districts.
- All eligible schools continuing to be recognized among America’s Healthiest Schools since 2014.
- Sam Houston Elementary becoming a national Blue Ribbon School in fall 2019.
