At least three groups are planning candidate forums for the May 6 McAllen school board election.
Four seats are up for grabs on the board.
Place 1 incumbent Marco Suarez, who is in sales, will face UTRGV professor Lizzie Kittleman in a bid to defend his seat.
Meanwhile, Lucia Regalado, an attorney, is running unopposed for Trustee Conrado “Ito” Alvarado’s undefended Place 2 seat.
Place 4 incumbent Tony Forina, a field operations director for the county, will face challenger Erica De La Garza-Lopez — who is in sales — in the election for that seat.
Finally, two newcomers will vie for Trustee Danny Vela’s undefended Place 5 seat: Rojelio Aleman II, a veteran, and Aaron Daniel Rivera, an attorney.
Candidates will have ample opportunities to speak before the public, the first of which is a forum for Aleman and Rivera hosted by the McAllen Rotary Club slated for Wednesday.
“We are excited to host this important event and provide a platform for our community to learn more about the candidates who are running for the McAllen ISD School Board,” Jon Valdivia, the club’s president, wrote in a release.
That forum, which is open to the public, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Salvation Army Banquet Hall at 1600 N. 23rd St.
It will feature questions touching on student achievement, teacher retention and budget concerns, along with light refreshments and food.
The Rotary Club is also planning on holding additional forums in early April for the other contested board races.
Futuro RGV, meanwhile, is hosting a forum for all candidates on March 28 at the South Texas College Student Union Ballroom at 3201 Pecan Blvd.
Partnering with Aim Media, the McAllen Citizens League and the League of Women Voters RGV, Futuro’s forum is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
The forum will be livestreamed on Futuro’s website.
Futuro is soliciting questions for the forum, which can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected].
The event is open to the public, although the public is directed not to bring posters or signs with them.
Finally, the McAllen ISD Joint Professional Consultation Committee is scheduled to hold a forum next month.
Sylvia Tanguma, JPCC board member, says that event is slated for April 11 at Nikki Rowe. She says it’s open to the public, and that members of the public can call the district for more information on the event.
