Cyndi Beltran has been appointed the inaugural chief of staff for the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen, beginning this month. In the role she will support the leadership team, coordinate strategic initiatives and oversee executive events. Beltran brings a decade of experience at four Rio Grande Valley law firms and ten years with the Texas A&M School of Public Health.

Educators in Rio Grande Valley school districts say the statewide cellphone ban is yielding positive results after its first full year. Obed Leal, principal at Rivera Early College High School in Brownsville ISD, notes better student behavior and focus, while English teacher Kimberly Kizer reports that pupils now write notes by hand, boosting study skills and memorization. Deputy Superintendent José Valdez added that parents have welcomed the law.

The Dinsburg school board met on Tuesday and voted unanimously to issue a request for qualifications for an independent forensic audit, amid a $15 million deficit in the proposed next‑year budget. Board members Leticia “Letty” Garcia, David Torres and President Xavier Salinas also approved soliciting public bids for the sale of a 113.35‑acre property originally slated for low‑ and moderate‑income housing development.

Harlingen Independent School District announced that Superintendent Veronica Kortan will serve under a new contract extending to June 30, 2029, with a salary of $260,100, up from $255,000. The agreement adds a $700 monthly transportation stipend, a $200 phone and internet allowance, and a $1 million term‑life insurance policy, while retaining benefits. Kortan, who was appointed in March 2025 after a two‑month internal search, will continue leading the district through its financial recovery.

The Brownsville Independent School District and the Flight Academy of South Texas (START) announced on Friday a CTE aviation pathway for BISD students. Senior Camilla Olvera flew a Tecnap P‑Mentor trainer from the airport’s historic Hunt Pan Am hangar to South Padre Island and back, showing a program that will start with a private‑pilot PPL requiring at least 40 flight hours. START plans a 60,000‑sq‑ft hangar for the flight school and an aviation‑mechanic school.

Texas has introduced an optional designation for deaf or hard‑of‑hearing individuals on driver’s licenses and state identification cards after the passage of House Bill 3132, a change advocated by Liza Lara of the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf to improve communication with law enforcement and other responders.

The Donna ISD School Board appointed deputy superintendent Rebecca Castañeda as acting superintendent and said it will conduct a comprehensive search for a permanent superintendent.

La Joya ISD superintendent Marcey Sorensen was granted a contract extension through June 30 2031 with an annual salary of $355,865, about $10,000 higher than her previous contract, and the agreement includes reimbursement for travel and other reasonable expenses subject to audit.

The McAllen Public Library is celebrating Library Card Sign‑up Month in September by giving children who register a limited‑edition card featuring the mascot Marty the Cat and highlighting its wide range of resources and early‑literacy programs.

The La Joya ISD school board extended Superintendent Marcey Sorensen’s contract through 2031, noting her leadership since 2024, previous salary terms, district academic improvements, balanced budgets, a financial integrity rating of A, and a 3% pay increase for employees.

UTRGV announced a record first‑day fall 2026 enrollment of 36,466 students, including 7,373 freshmen, 790 doctoral students, and 3,933 master’s students, marking the seventh consecutive year of enrollment records.

The school board approved by a 4-3 vote a three-year contract for new superintendent Angela Domínguez, with an annual salary of $335,000, while the debate focused on the serious $15 million budget deficit and other financial problems facing the district.