A history of the Texas Education Agency Instructional Facility Allotment (IFA) Program in Hidalgo County school districts located in the Texas Rio Grande Valley from 1997 to 2007

This study examines the implementation of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Instructional Facility Allotment (IFA) Program in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) through documentation chronicling Hidalgo County school districts from 1997 through 2007 that secured IFA & EDA monies to build new facilities. Participants in this study included Hidalgo County school districts, three school architects, ten Hidalgo County school district superintendents and one Texas state senator.;The fifteen school district superintendents were asked to complete an Instructional Facility Allotment (IFA) and Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) survey. The three architects, ten superintendents and state senator were interviewed in order to provide school facility conditions before and after the implementation of the IFA program. Based on the superintendent interviews four emerging themes were documented. Ex post facto data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) website was reported in order to address the IFA program components. Collectively this information was compiled and analyzed to produce research findings.;This research study discovered IFA program facts, figures and statistical data. The data reflected that the IFA program influenced Hidalgo County school districts to conduct facility bond elections and the local effort versus the state effort neutralized the state's adequacy and equity issues when building new school facilities in Hidalgo County between 1997 and 2007.