Community Helpers

The United Way of Southern Cameron County Board of Directors recently thanked BISD for its support of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) project. For a second year, six BISD early college high schools offered free income tax assistance to the public during the school year. Students at Hanna, Lopez, Pace, Porter, Rivera, and Veterans Memorial trained to become certified tax preparers and electronically filed a total of 633 federal tax returns, helping Brownsville families receive $707,888 in Earned Income Tax Credit. The VITA project helps families who struggle financially to file tax returns free of charge, access income supports such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, and prepare to meet FAFSA filing deadlines. Thank you to the BISD students and their lead teachers, Belinda Morales, Virginia Ramirez, Sylvia Reza, Alberto Velez, Gabby Marks-Cisneros, and Charles Flores, for assisting our Brownsville community.