Laredo ISD trustees approve resolution to pursue Texas A&M Community Forestry grant and authorize MOU talks with RGISC

LAREDO, Texas — The Laredo Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Jan. 25 to authorize the district to pursue grant funds from the Texas A&M Forest Service Community Forestry Program and to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the Rio Grande International Study Center to prepare and implement forested schoolyard projects.

Superintendent Dr. Rios read a resolution describing the program’s goals — establishing forested schoolyards to mitigate extreme heat, improve campus environments and bolster climate resilience — and said the district and the study center have coordinated with facilities staff and other district personnel on the plan. "They need to be able to submit this by February 16th," Dr. Rios said, referring to the program’s submission timeline.

After the reading, a trustee moved to approve the resolution and to submit a response to the Texas A&M Forest Service RFP; another trustee seconded the motion. The board approved the resolution by voice vote.

The board then considered a separate but related item authorizing the superintendent and legal counsel to negotiate and enter a memorandum of understanding with the Rio Grande International Study Center to delineate roles and responsibilities for proposal preparation and project implementation. A trustee moved the authorization, the motion was seconded, and the board approved the MOU authorization by voice vote.

The record identifies the RFP by date (Nov. 27, 2023) and notes that the proposal would follow the RFP’s Category 7 requirements. The written resolution also references the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service as program administrators. The board’s action directed district staff to continue collaboration and to prepare any necessary documents for submission.

What happens next: the superintendent is authorized to finalize an MOU and proceed with the proposal submission. The board did not set campus-specific project start dates in the public record on Jan. 25.

Provenance: The resolution reading and the February 16 deadline are recorded in the Jan. 25 meeting transcript. Topic intro: SEG 078; topic finish (resolution vote): SEG 181. MOU discussion and vote: SEG 185–SEG 206.