Texas Attorney General Questions Eagle Pass ISD Charges for Super Bowl Event Records Requested
EAGLE PASS, Texas — After receiving numerous inquiries from local taxpayers regarding the annual Super Bowl celebration hosted by Eagle Pass Independent School District, The Maverick Times submitted a public information request seeking records related to the event’s costs and expenditures over a three year period.
The request, submitted on February 4, 2026, sought records reflecting costs, expenditures, invoices, payments, accounting records, purchase orders, receipts, contracts, reimbursements, communications, and other documentation related to Super Bowl themed events hosted, organized, sponsored, or funded by the Office of Superintendent Samuel Mijares during calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
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In response, Eagle Pass ISD informed The Maverick Times that fulfilling the request would require nine hours of labor at a rate of $15 per hour, plus overhead costs, resulting in a total estimated charge of $162. The district further required a 100 percent deposit before moving forward with the request.
Believing the charges to be excessive, The Maverick Times filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Texas Attorney General challenging the cost estimate.
The complaint prompted the Attorney General’s Open Records Division to open a review under Complaint ID OR-26-009700-CC. In a letter dated May 6, 2026, the Attorney General’s Office informed Eagle Pass ISD that it was required to provide a detailed explanation regarding how the district calculated the charges and personnel hours associated with the request.
Texas Attorney General Letter:
The Attorney General specifically requested that the district explain how it determined the number of personnel hours necessary to produce the records, whether the records exist in electronic or paper form, where the records are physically located, and whether any information would be redacted before release.
In its response to the Attorney General, Eagle Pass ISD stated that the requested records were maintained by both its Special Events Department and Business and Finance Accounting Department. The district argued that locating responsive records required employees to search emails, review physical binders, locate invoices, examine accounting records, and search payment files spanning multiple fiscal years.
READ: Eagle Pass ISD Paid El Latino Nearly $151,000 in Taxpayer Funds
According to the district, employees spent approximately six hours within the Special Events Department locating communications, invoices, receipts, and other event related records. District officials stated that hundreds of documents contained within multiple binders had to be reviewed on a page by page basis to identify information specifically related to Super Bowl events.
SEE EPISD RESPONSE HERE:
The district further explained that Accounting Department employees spent additional time searching general ledger systems, purchase orders, payment records, credit card files, and journal entries covering the requested time period. Eagle Pass ISD stated that approximately 40,000 payment records exist for each fiscal year and that some responsive records were stored in separate facilities requiring staff to travel between locations to locate the documents.
Eagle Pass ISD also informed the Attorney General that some records exist electronically while others exist only in paper form. The district stated that certain account numbers may ultimately be redacted before release as permitted under Texas law.
The dispute highlights ongoing concerns regarding access to public records and the costs governmental entities may charge requestors seeking information funded by taxpayer dollars.
At the center of the request is the annual Super Bowl celebration organized by Eagle Pass ISD. Taxpayers who contacted The Maverick Times questioned the overall costs associated with the event and whether public funds were being used appropriately. The requested records are expected to provide a clearer picture of expenditures related to those events.
As of publication, the Office of the Texas Attorney General has not publicly issued a final determination regarding whether Eagle Pass ISD’s cost estimate complies with the Texas Public Information Act.
The Maverick Times will continue following the matter and provide updates as additional information becomes available.
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