EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story said La Joya ISD also issued stipends to their staff. The article has since been updated to clarify that the stipend from La Joya ISD was only for special education staff members. La Joya ISD is not participating in the same retention stipend initiative as described in the below article. 

Due to a surplus, the McAllen Independent School District is giving its full-time employees a retention stipend.

"We have saved about $13 million more into our fund balance," McAllen ISD Superintendent Dr. Rene Gutierrez said.

The district, which employs more than 3,000 full-time staff members, will issue a $750 payment to each employee on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.

The total cost of the stipends is approximately $2.5 million, with the majority of the one-time payment covered by the district's general fund.

"We are very responsible with our tax dollars, and we will continue to be as transparent as we can with our financing and our budget to make sure any surplus we have if we can give it back to our staff or students is exactly what we are going to do," Gutierrez said.

Other Rio Grande Valley school districts giving stipends to their staff include Brownsville Independent School District and Weslaco Independent School District.

La Joya ISD issued a stipend, but only to their special education staff members and not all employees. 

Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District is holding a special meeting on Thursday to consider approving employee stipends.