Agenda and minutes
Regular meeting, 18 August 2026
Monday 18 August 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 10:12 p.m.
- Where
- Board Room, Central Office, Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City, Texas 78582
- Presiding
- Board President Dr. Veronica Barrera presiding
- Quorum
- Quorum of six present at 6:04 p.m. A seventh trustee arrived at 6:31 p.m.
- Interpretation
- A Spanish interpreter was present in the board room for the whole meeting.
- Recorded votes
- 7
Demonstration data
The campuses, the trustees and the seal are real. Every enrollment figure, bus position, vote and dollar amount on this site is invented, and each page that shows one says so.
Notice
Posted Thursday 14 August 2026 at 2:18 p.m. — 99 hours and 42 minutes before the meeting. Texas Government Code § 551.043 requires at least 72 hours.
Where it was posted
- Bulletin board in the Central Office lobby at Fort Ringgold, readily accessible to the public at all times — 14 August, 2:18 p.m. (Gov't Code § 551.054)
- The district website — 14 August, 2:40 p.m. This one is voluntary: the § 551.056 internet-posting mandate reaches districts with enrollment of 10,000 or more, and this district is 9,482.
I certify that this notice was posted on the bulletin board at the Central Office, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on August 14, 2026 at 2:18 p.m. — Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez, Secretary, Board of Trustees
Who was there
| Trustee | Attendance | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Veronica Barrera | Present | — |
| Rene Peña | Present | — |
| Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez | Present | — |
| Jesus Solis | Arrived late | Arrived 6:31 p.m. Absent for the first two votes. |
| Patsy Garcia | Present | — |
| Basilio D. Villarreal | Present | Left the dais 7:48 to 8:09 p.m. for item 7 — recusal |
| Noe Castillo | Present | — |
The agenda, item by item
1 Call to order, invocation, and the Pledges of Allegiance
Called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Board President Dr. Veronica Barrera. Invocation by a trustee, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and the Pledge to the Texas flag.
Reconstructed from the approved minutes. The district's own agenda PDF for this meeting is a scan with no text layer — a screen reader gets nothing from it.
2 Roll call and establishment of a quorum
Six of seven trustees present. Quorum established at 6:04 p.m. Trustee Solis arrived at 6:31 p.m.
3 Public comment
Who spoke
- A parent from the La Union attendance zone · La Union Rd · 3:00 · spoke in Spanish
Said her daughter's bus has been between twenty and fifty minutes late eleven times since school started, that the campus cannot tell her where the bus is when she calls, and that she has been waiting at the stop in the dark with a five-year-old. Asked the board to do something about knowing where the buses are. - A teacher at Ringgold Middle School · Rio Grande City · 2:10 · spoke in English
Asked why staff need five separate logins to do attendance, grades, referrals, lesson plans and purchase requests, and why none of them share a password.
What happened after: The transportation item at 7 was already posted for this meeting. The parent who spoke was notified of the outcome in Spanish on 20 August.
- A parent from the La Union attendance zone · La Union Rd · 3:00 · spoke in Spanish
4 Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of 21 July 2026
Main motion · Carried
To approve the minutes of the regular meeting of 21 July 2026 as presented.
Moved by Rene Peña · seconded by Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez
Unanimous · Roll call at 18:08
Vote on the motion to approve the minutes of 21 July 2026 Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Absent Patsy Garcia Place 5 Yes Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Yes Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Passed 6–0. Trustee Solis had not yet arrived. 5 Consent agenda — budget amendments and donations
- Department
- Business & Finance
In plain language
Routine items grouped into one vote. Any trustee may pull an item out to be voted on by itself, and one did.
Trustee Castillo asked that the fuel-budget amendment be pulled and taken separately; it became item 5B. The remainder was adopted as presented.
Main motion · Carried
To approve the consent agenda as presented, less the fuel-budget amendment, which is pulled for separate consideration.
Moved by Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez · seconded by Patsy Garcia
Unanimous · Roll call at 18:19
Vote on the consent agenda, less the pulled item Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Absent Patsy Garcia Place 5 Yes Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Yes Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Passed 6–0. 5B Fuel budget amendment — pulled from the consent agenda
- Department
- Business & Finance
- Amount
- $214,000
In plain language
Moving $214,000 into the transportation fuel line because diesel ran over budget for the fourth year running.
Trustee Castillo asked how the district would know whether the overage is price or mileage, and was told the district cannot presently separate the two because route mileage is recorded by hand on paper logs. That answer is what item 7 is about.
Main motion · Carried
To approve the budget amendment moving $214,000 to the transportation fuel line for the 2026–2027 year.
Moved by Basilio D. Villarreal · seconded by Rene Peña
Split vote · Roll call at 18:34
Vote on the fuel budget amendment Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Yes Patsy Garcia Place 5 Yes Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Yes Noe Castillo Place 7 No Result All seats Passed 6–1. Trustee Castillo voted no, stating he would not approve another fuel overage until the district could say what caused it. 6 Instructional materials adoption, Grades 6–8 mathematics
- Department
- Curriculum & Instruction
- Amount
- $486,200
In plain language
Which maths books and digital materials the middle schools will use, and for how long.
A five-year adoption. The committee's recommendation carried a Spanish edition for every title, which two trustees asked about specifically before voting.
Main motion · Carried
To adopt the Grades 6–8 mathematics instructional materials as recommended by the district instructional materials committee, for a five-year term.
Moved by Patsy Garcia · seconded by Noe Castillo
Unanimous · Roll call at 19:22
Vote on the Grades 6–8 mathematics adoption Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Yes Patsy Garcia Place 5 Yes Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Yes Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Passed 7–0. 7 Award of contract — student transportation GPS, telemetry and parent notification system
- Department
- Transportation
- Amount
- $318,400
In plain language
Putting a tracker on all ninety-one buses and giving parents a way to see where their child's bus is. Three companies bid; the item is here because it was a split vote and because one trustee had to step off the dais for it.
Procured under Education Code § 44.031 as a competitive sealed proposal. Three responses were received and scored on cost, on whether the district would own its own data, and on whether parent-facing notices would exist in Spanish at launch rather than in a later release. The recommended proposal was not the cheapest; the item drew the longest discussion of the night.
One trustee recused himself
Trustee Villarreal filed a conflict-of-interest affidavit with the board secretary on 14 August 2026, before the meeting, disclosing that a first-degree relative is employed by one of the three responding firms. He left the dais at 7:48 p.m., did not participate in the discussion, and did not vote. He returned at 8:09 p.m.
Local Government Code § 171.004 — the affidavit must be filed with the official record keeper before the vote, and the member must abstain from further participation.
Amendment · Carried
To amend the main motion to award for one year only, with two optional one-year renewals contingent on a published report to the board on on-time performance and on parent adoption in both languages.
Moved by Noe Castillo · seconded by Jesus Solis
Split vote · Roll call at 20:01
Vote on the amendment — one year, with two optional renewals Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President No Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Yes Patsy Garcia Place 5 No Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Recused1 Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Amendment carried 4–2. Trustee Villarreal recused. 1 The two trustees who voted no said a one-year term would cost the district the multi-year price and give a vendor no reason to invest in the Spanish side.
Main motion, as amended · Carried
To award the contract for a student transportation GPS, telemetry and parent notification system in the amount of $318,400 for one year, with two optional one-year renewals as amended, and to direct the superintendent to bring the on-time performance and parent adoption report to the board no later than the regular meeting in May 2027.
Moved by Rene Peña · seconded by Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez
Split vote · Roll call at 20:08
Vote on the main motion as amended — award the transportation GPS and parent notification contract Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Yes Patsy Garcia Place 5 No Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Recused1 Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Passed 5–1. Trustee Villarreal recused and did not vote. 1 Trustee Garcia voted no on the award, having voted no on the amendment, and stated on the record that her objection was to the one-year term rather than to the system.
What happened after: Awarded 19 August 2026. Installation on all ninety-one buses was completed 6 October 2026. The parent-facing notices went live in English and Spanish on the same day, which was the condition the amendment was written to force.
8 Closed session
The board recessed into closed session at 8:32 p.m. and reconvened in open session at 9:54 p.m.
Under which citation
- Gov't Code § 551.074 — personnel: the appointment and evaluation of two campus administrators.
- Gov't Code § 551.082 — deliberation of a student discipline matter. No student is named in these minutes or anywhere on this site.
No vote was taken in closed session. Texas Government Code § 551.102 forbids it. The two actions below were taken in open session after the board reconvened, which is why they have roll calls and the closed session does not.
9 Action following closed session — campus administrator appointments
- Department
- Human Resources
Main motion · Carried
To approve the superintendent's recommendation for the appointment of two campus administrators as discussed in closed session.
Moved by Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez · seconded by Patsy Garcia
Unanimous · Roll call at 21:58
Vote on the campus administrator appointments Trustee Office Vote Dr. Veronica Barrera President Yes Rene Peña Vice President Yes Eduardo “Eddie” Ramirez Secretary Yes Jesus Solis Place 4 Yes Patsy Garcia Place 5 Yes Basilio D. Villarreal Place 6 Yes Noe Castillo Place 7 Yes Result All seats Passed 7–0. 10 Adjournment
Adjourned at 10:12 p.m. on a motion by Trustee Peña, seconded by Trustee Solis, without objection.
How each trustee voted, across the whole meeting
Texas law requires the minutes to indicate each vote. It does not require the district to record how each individual trustee voted. Publishing the roll call is the district's own choice, and it is a stronger commitment than the statute asks for.