McALLEN — Finances again proved to be the central topic of discussion at a school board candidate forum hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Republican Women Monday evening.
Though a candidate for Sharyland ISD Place 2 gave an opening statement and candidates for the McAllen and Sharyland boards gave statements in absentia, candidates for places 4 and 5 on the McAllen school board were the only ones to participate in the forum proper.
Candidates Rojelio Aleman II and Aaron Daniel Rivera — who met at a forum earlier this month — are running for undefended Place 5.
Broadly speaking, Aleman has emphasized his experience as a veteran with PTSD and as a former special education student at McAllen ISD to undergird a platform supporting facilities improvement, anti-bullying and school safety.
Rivera, a scion of Rivera Funeral Home, has noted his professional experience as an attorney and emphasized facilities upgrades and improving staff morale as tentpoles of his campaign. He tends to use the word “culture” when describing his priorities, and talks about fostering a good culture amongst staff at the head of his platform.
Aleman is self-described as the less-polished of the two, while Rivera takes a more manicured approach. Both say they’re committed to lending an open ear to the people and to transparency.
Monday’s forum also featured the debut performance of Place 4 incumbent Tony Forina versus Erica De La Garza-Lopez.
Perhaps the most dramatic of the races, De La Garza-Lopez’s challenge is a rematch. Forina successfully ousted her from the board eight years ago, when she failed to be elected alongside a bond she supported.
In their first public encounter Monday, Forina tended to cite successful moves by the district regarding finances and a commitment to beneficial policies.
De La Garza-Lopez focused on the need for a balanced budget and employee pay.
The possibility of a future bond dredged up some of the candidate’s old stances and proved to be the most discussed topic of the evening.
In a switch, Forina came off as more open to a bond than De La Garza-Lopez. He said wouldn’t call for a bond, but that he also wouldn’t oppose one, describing it as inevitable given school safety infrastructure concerns.
“So there will come a time that we’re gonna have to come to the voters and say ‘Here’s what we need it for, and here’s what we’re gonna do with your money,’” Forina said.
De La Garza-Lopez shied away from calling for a bond in Monday’s forum, but echoing the opinion of some current trustees, said she’d eye the salaries of administrators at the district when budget balancing.
“The district itself did a survey to see the ratio between upper administration and teachers and students. And we are continually losing enrollment and losing students. And yet, the six-figure jobs keep growing and growing and growing,” she said.
Aleman and Rivera, in contrast, were at first too nervous to even say the word “bond,” calling it instead the “B-Word,” though both talked about needs they described as evident at the district.
Aleman talked about kids not wanting to eat the cafeteria food; Rivera said some bathrooms aren’t even up to code.
“Look at the facilities,” Rivera said. “I mean, we could take all of our parents who send their children to the schools, walk them through the halls, and see if that’s a place where they would want their children to be raised and go into and learn. Talk to the staff, and see if that’s a place where they feel comfortable working at.”
Rivera described needs for a bond, though he said he couldn’t firmly say one is necessary; Aleman didn’t go that far, simply making another transparency pledge.
“If the time comes, for that we need a bond, I would want to know what is this bond for,” he said. “Is it for our schools, is it for our teachers, so they can have the better resources? We’ll just have to see.”
In terms of a smaller — though not necessarily less controversial — financial issue, candidates voiced their opinion on the future of Crockett Elementary.
Closed to students for over a decade, the property is a significant fiscal drain on the district that seems to have no immediate benefits for the district.
Sitting trustees have been divided over what to do with the piece of prime McAllen real estate, and their indecisiveness has cost taxpayers money.
Perhaps indicating how tough of a nut it is to crack, all of Monday’s candidates had different answers to the Crockett question.
Aleman said he favored selling the property in a capacity that was beneficial to the community.
“That way they can be beneficial to them and to us as a community for the city of McAllen,” he said.
Rivera urged caution and a collaborative approach, leaning toward keeping the property.
“What if there’s a need for schools later in the future?” he said
Forina was the loudest voice toward selling the property, saying he’d be open to residential or commercial enterprises being built there.
“I just want it to be beneficial to McAllen ISD and to the city of McAllen,” he said.
De La Garza-Lopez came out as pro-park, citing expenses.
“We need to protect that land,” she said.
Monday’s forum was nonpartisan. However, candidates did face a bowl full of questions submitted by attendees that tended to include questions skewed toward more hot button disputes between Democrats and Republicans on education.
Candidate reactions to those questions were generally delicately moderate. None were pro-voucher. They tended to view the rights of transgender athletes as the purview of the state rather than the local school board. Concerns over books, they agreed, were worth reflection instead of hasty action.
Monday’s forum did not include McAllen Place 1 incumbent Marco Suarez or his challenger, Lizzie Kittleman. Both did send statements that were read in their absence.
Sharyland ISD Place 2 Incumbent Alejandro Rodriguez did not attend, though a proxy gave an address on his behalf. His opponent, Julio Cerda, did attend and gave an opening statement.
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