Round Rock ISD Questioned Over $5 Million Contract With Indicted Vendor

Cecilia Castellanos, a Texas Democrat who is at the center of a voter fraud scandal, is facing more scrutiny after her indictment. Dr. Mary Bone, a former trustee of the Round Rock Independent School District (ISD), is sounding the alarm over a $5 million contract awarded to AZTECA Designs and Construction, a company owned by Castellanos.

In a detailed social media post, Dr. Bone revealed that in August 2024, while still on the Round Rock ISD board, she learned that Castellano, the president of AZTECA Designs and Construction, was under investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for alleged voter harvesting in Frio County. Despite this, Dr. Bone comments, “the majority of the board proceeded to approve AZTECA for a Job Order Contract (JOC) worth up to $5 million.”

Castellano has since been indicted. She was the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 80, and she was backed by progressive groups like Mothers Against Greg Abbott, who said she was a candidate voters should "pay attention to."

On social media, Dr. Bone questioned how AZTECA was recommended despite having “no prior business history with Round Rock ISD.” She suggested political favoritism may have played a role, asking, “Are vendors being chosen for ISD contracts based on political or personal relationships rather than merit?”

She also criticized the board’s vendor selection process, saying, “The district provides Trustees with a ‘scoring’ sheet, but few, if any, consider these sheets a reliable indicator of fairness or integrity.”

She further called on Texas lawmakers and taxpayers to investigate how far political favoritism may extend within public school contracting, questioning, “Are tax dollars from ISDs being funneled to vendors with political agendas instead of being allocated for the best value?”

The voter fraud scandal includes other political figures like Frio County Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho and her sister, a county trustee.