The Starr County Sheriff’s Office assumed the investigation of Rio Grande City High School teacher Francisco Contreras Jr., who faces charges of an improper educator‑student relationship and two counts of sexual assault of a child. According to the sheriff’s booking report, Contreras was arrested on Wednesday, is listed as a special services teacher on the school’s website, and was suspended by Rio Grande City Grulla ISD following the allegations.

A former La Grulla High School assistant band director faces charges of improper relationship between educator and student following allegations of groping, according to a Starr County criminal complaint.

About ten school‑district races will decide more than twenty board seats on the November 3 general election in Hidalgo County. Voters in Edinburg, Pharr‑San Juan‑Alamo, Weslaco and Donna districts will choose among incumbents and newcomers, with several open seats such as Edinburg Place 5 and Weslaco Place 4, making these contests especially relevant for local families.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- Prospective students and families interested in exploring the Texas A&M University-Higher Education Center at McAllen are invited to an open house event this weekend. Aggieland Saturday is a biannual event where the community can explore undergraduate programs, meet A&M faculty and staff, and learn about student services offered. "This is perfect [...]

The Mission Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to list its food truck fleet as surplus property, likely marking the end of the district’s foray into food truck nutrition. In 2019, Mission CISD’s school board voted unanimously and without discussion to spend about $413,000 on a fleet of seven food trucks…

The McAllen Independent School District Board of Trustees voted in August to allocate about $3 million to the city of McAllen for improvements at Quinta Mazatlan theoretically, quietly resolving an issue that had before threatened to bring the district and the city to the point of litigation. In 2021, McAllen ISD committed $4 million…

Russell Elementary School in Brownsville ISD marked its 110th anniversary last Thursday with a morning assembly that gathered current and former students, teachers and staff. Superintendent Timothy Cuff highlighted the school’s recent A rating from the Texas Education Agency, noting it earned a 94 on the STAAR assessment, a point of pride for the community. The celebration also honored the tradition of the “Los Viejitos” dancers who appear in the BISD Children’s Parade during Charro Days.

The U.S. Small Business Administration awarded the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley a $5 million grant to boost manufacturing in the Rio Grande Valley through its Institute for Advanced Manufacturing. The grant will fund hands‑on training in robotics, automation, AI and digital manufacturing for small manufacturers across Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, Brooks, Zapata and Starr counties. The program aims to train 250 workers and create 50 manufacturing jobs.

Former Edinburg school board member Miguel “Mike” Farias sued Edinburg CISD last week, alleging the district had violated the Texas Open Meetings Act several times over the course of the last year. Farias, formerly the board’s president, served as a trustee until he declined to run for reelection in 2024. In his suit,…

Editor's note: The video attached originally aired on Thursday, Oct. 1. HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The mother of a former student at a high school in Edinburg is suing the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District for $3 million over bullying and hazing allegations that resulted in her son's shattered clavicle. Juanita Ramirez, on behalf of [...]

Students from Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy are staging the musical “Trolls The Musical Jr.” at the Harlingen Performing Arts Academy. Fine‑arts coordinator Sandra Luna says rehearsals are going well and the production, which features 167 children, follows a storyline where Princess Marie Bergenette still intends to eat trolls despite a peace treaty. The show includes nine songs and extensive dancing.

Seventh‑grader Nathan Montelongo of De Zavala Middle School was named one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge for his project to remove microplastics from river water. The competition, a national STEM contest, will bring him and his mother to Washington D.C. in late October, where he will present his work and compete for more than $100,000 in awards, including a $25,000 top prize.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It Takes a Village is a weekly ValleyCentral+ series that covers all things parenting: From real, honest conversations about daily routines and challenges to funny moments, lessons learned, and balancing work and family life. RELATED: More episodes of It Takes a Village We’re about a month into the school year, and by [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Monte Alto Independent School District has suspended a school nurse over misconduct allegations involving a student, the district announced in a statement on Wednesday. The district did not identify the nurse or the school linked to the allegations. Monte Alto ISD said it learned about the misconduct allegations earlier this [...]

PossAble Dream Adult High School, operating on seven Rio Grande Valley campuses with offices in Pharr and Brownsville, offers adult learners high‑school diplomas and industry certificates by “grandfathering” prior credits and requiring three STARR end‑of‑course exams. Superintendent Darcia C. Cuellar reported enrollment above 100 and that 216 students graduated in August, including Rosa Angelica Ceballos of Brownsville, who praised the transcript verification process.

Harlingen ISD announced a new $21.2 million self‑insured health‑insurance policy that raises employee deductions to offset a $5.3 million shortfall. The board approved a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan with a Blue Essentials HMO and a Blue Choice PPO, effective Jan. 1, after a Sept. 16 meeting where Superintendent Veronica Kortan and Assistant Superintendent Ida Ambriz explained the changes to staff through Oct. 5.

MERCEDES — The South Texas Independent School District Board of Directors voted to approve voluntary resignation agreements with Deputy Superintendent Efrain Garza and Assistant Superintendent for Finances and Operations Marla Knaub Tuesday before also voting to terminate Knaub’s contract. The board discussed those decisions — along with a couple of unrelated items — behind…

The Valley Baptist Medical Center School of Vocational Nursing in Harlingen says enrollment for the January LVN class is low and that applicants must submit TEAS exam results by October 20. Program director Stephanie Hamby notes the test is the only requirement besides a high school diploma or GED, with a criminal background check needed. Rio Grande Valley residents should note the October 20 deadline to be considered for admission.

Pablo Javier Almaguer was named director of the Colonias Program at the Texas A&M Higher Education Center in McAllen after Oscar Muñoz retired following a 31‑year tenure. He will build on a university‑DHR Health medical‑legal partnership that provides low‑income colonia residents with legal assistance and aims to expand rights‑education, training and trust‑building services, especially given community fears about ICE.

Mission CISD Superintendent Criselda “Cris” King told her board at a meeting last week that the district will drain its monetary reserves by a perilous degree and likely invite Texas Education Agency intervention over the course of the next three years if it doesn’t take steps promptly to fix long unaddressed “structural” financial problems. …