Area News

Three school districts in Hidalgo County saw changes or potential changes at the superintendent level this week.   School boards in Mercedes and Edinburg both placed their superintendents on administrative leave, while Edcouch-Elsa’s board tapped an interim after its superintendent retired.   MERCEDES     The Mercedes board placed Superintendent Benjamin Clinton on administrative leave…

Records show $18K paid, no work performed     A prominent Texas law office announced this week that one of its partners is no longer affiliated with the firm after the Progress Times contacted it Tuesday about a social media consulting “side gig” contract that the attorney signed with Raymondville ISD last summer.   According…

Mission City Council Monday acknowledged Mission Police Association Local 293 as a bargaining unit should council decide it wants to bargain over a meet and confer agreement.   Meet and confer negotiations would let the city and a union negotiate a contract for things like wages and benefits.   Local 293 has been pushing for…

A San Juan woman accidentally shot by an Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office deputy in 2023 sued the county this month for as much as $250,000.     Priscilla Lerma alleges the deputy who inadvertently shot her handled the rifle he was holding in a “negligent and careless manner” and should have avoided pulling the trigger…

Sharyland ISD is in the throes of building the budget for the next school year, and that means discussing employee compensation. Administration and the board of trustees debated three pay increase scenarios from 1-3% at a recent budget workshop. A 1% raise for all employees would cost the district $726,549, a 2% raise would cost…

The city of Mission has been sued twice over the past month in relation to a police chase in 2023 that ended with a car crash and a suspect being shot to death by police officers.   Family members of a man shot and killed by Mission police officers in 2023 after he allegedly shot…

The firm conducting the audit of La Joya ISD’s financial practices reported poor accountability, a lack of long-term planning and inefficient staffing through 2023 and 2024. Superintendent Dr. Marcey Sorensen and her cabinet joined La Joya ISD in 2024 after the Texas Education Agency took over the district due to fraud and conflicts of interest…

Anyone traveling frequently on Bryan Road between Business 83 and Griffin Parkway will need to find a new route soon as plans to improve and widen the road are on the horizon.   Mission City Manager Mike Perez said the city is borrowing $10.2 million to cover substantial upgrades to the heavily used north-south corridor.…

In the summer of 2020, Edinburg CISD decided to ask for the public’s participation in renaming Robert E. Lee Elementary.   The district was facing calls to change the name of the Sprague St. school and appeared to be following a trend nationwide to rename monuments and buildings named for Confederate leaders in the wake…