Area News

Mission’s popular duck pond at Bannworth Park is set to undergo major reconstruction in order to save it.     Mission Parks & Recreation Department Director, Brad Bentsen, told the city council at its January 6 workshop that he estimates the project will cost at least $95,000. The city council appeared willing to spend more…

The Mission City Council will consider the approval of a site plan that would allow for the construction of Vanguard Academy on North Stewart Road, despite prior objections of home owners in the area.   The Vanguard Academy site plan was unanimously approved without discussion by the Planning and Zoning Commission on January 7. The…

The La Joya school district reportedly closed out the first semester with stronger performance rates in reading and math compared to the beginning of the school year, bringing LJISD one step closer to its five-year goal. Last year, the district outlined its commitment to increasing the percentage of students attending A and B-rated campuses to…

Tuesday, Mission City Council heard a pitch on becoming the second non-school district to join the South Texas School Board Association.   Founded last year, the association pledged to become an advocacy group for local school districts, acting as a think tank and networking facilitator.   The association told prospective members that South Texas’ schools…

Mission resident Ned Sheats has a Christmas present for you that is so big, it can’t be wrapped and put under your tree.     Sheats repaired Mission’s landmark clock and given it a new life after it was damaged in a storm years ago. He volunteered to rehabilitate the clock at his own expense…

La Joya ISD faces a possible $20 million price tag on replacement school buses due to questionable decisions from previous administrations. Chief of Operations & Infrastructure S.B. Pierson stated that La Joya ISD must replace about 80% of its aging bus fleet within the next three to five years. With 168 buses in-house and $150,000…

Financial auditors from Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) reported a decrease in La Joya ISD’s overages from the 2023-24 fiscal year to the 2024-25 fiscal year, indicating an improvement in financial practices.   In May, A&M disclosed that La Joya ISD overpaid its vendors after examining the district’s financial systems for 2023 and 2024 during Phase I…

The administrative nervous system of Edinburg CISD received some board attention earlier this month.   Whether that attention was appropriate sparked some controversy on the board, though the district’s school board president says potential administrative organizational review is a worthy efficiency measure.   Edinburg school district — like other districts — has an organizational chart…

Courtroom proceedings last week regarding a suit filed by the father of an Edinburg school district student told to exercise in a state of undress in 2024 recessed until January after attorneys bitterly sparred for a few hours over whether the school district’s lawyers should be allowed to represent its individually sued employees.   In…

Extremely little water in the duck pond at Bannworth Park on Shary Road doesn’t mean the city of Mission is waddling away from the popular feature.     “That park’s claim to fame is the ducks,” Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza said with a laugh. “I know it looks like it’s being abandoned, but getting rid…