PHARR — Former McAllen Memorial Head Baseball Coach Felipe Barrera — who resigned in March after a string of complaints and was later arrested after allegedly threatening the district’s athletic director — is headed to Valley View ISD to continue his coaching and teaching career.
According to Valley View Superintendent Silvia Ibarra, the district’s board approved Barrera for a business information systems teaching position on June 13, about two weeks after his arrest. Barrera will also coach baseball at the district.
Ibarra said his start date is Aug. 8.
Barrera has recently been the subject of controversy and allegations at McAllen ISD, which led to his departure and a bitter break with the district.
A grievance packet from MISD details complaints against Barrera that led the district’s administration to a decision to suspend him in March. Barrera, however, resigned before he could be suspended.
His use of vulgar language ultimately led to that suspension decision, but the packet also says Barrera violated a UIL regulation that the district self-reported to the league, may have repeatedly violated the district’s facility usage policies and on one occasion failed to follow its COVID-19 policies.
In May, police arrested Barrera and charged him with stalking after McAllen ISD Athletic Director Brian McClenney told police Barrera had texted him threatening messages after his resignation.
Barrera has described complaints against him as biased and said that evidence was fabricated. He characterized the accusations as tools of an immoral administration conducting a “witch hunt” against him.
A statement from his attorney, who says he is representing Barrera in employment law claims against the district for retaliation, says his client’s arrest was “sought and secured by the District based on false pretenses” Asked to respond to potential concerns about the allegations, the Valley View superintendent said Barrera’s teaching certificate is clean and he is eligible for employment with any school district.
“If Mr. Barrera’s certificate is suspended or revoked by the State Board of Education at any point, Valley View ISD will take the necessary measures deemed appropriate,” Ibarra wrote in an email. “Valley View ISD employees are expected to adhere to the District’s Employees Standards of Conduct. Should any employee violate these standards, corrective action will be taken.”
Barrera started as Memorial’s head baseball coach in 2020.
When he resigned, his team was 11-4 overall in the season and tied for the District 31-5A lead at 2-0 along with three other teams. The Mustangs finished the 2020-21 season 8-17 overall and sixth in District 31-5A with a 4-10 record.
