Meet the La Feria ISD School Board Candidates

Place 2 to be filled unopposed while two candidates vie for Places 1 & 3 on November 8th

Place 1 Candidates

Gloria Santillan Casas

I would like to begin by thanking La Feria News for giving me this opportunity to share, with our community, what has been going on in my 22 years of service to public education.

Public education, especially, at La Feria ISD has evolved at a very fast speed during my time as a school trustee. The student population has grown from 2627 students to 3647 students. The extra curriculum programs have grown beyond expectation in academia, athletics, and fine arts. We are also enjoying some first-time achievements, such as state champions in both academics and athletics.

Some of the current initiatives I have championed include providing meals for our students when they participate in extra curriculum activities outside of our district. This benefit was not available when I was elected in 1994 and I believed, strongly, that our students’ nutrition was our priority and responsibility, when they were away from home representing our district. Another initiative that I lead was the initiation of the inaugural La Feria Parental Involvement Conference around 1996. Because parental involvement plays a crucial role in a child reaching their potential, the Parental Involvement Conference was essential to collaborating with parents. Another issue our board addressed during my tenure was that our students, who were unable to excel in the traditional school system, were being sent to a neighboring school district in an effort to complete their secondary education. I believed that it was our responsibility to create an alternative path to success for these students which lead to the creation of our La Feria Academy, in 2009. Since its inception our academy has graduated 236 students, who for the most part either continue on to college or graduate with a certification that enables them to enter the job force, immediately. The GEAR UP program is another program I am proud to say I worked tirelessly to bring to our district. In 2010, the program started, the first students in this program are now seniors and I believe this model will increase their ability to be successful at whatever they choose to tackle, when they graduate.

In accordance with our expanding academic opportunities, our growing student population has also given way to many extracurricular activities and new sports programs, not previously available to our students. Sports such as baseball, softball, soccer, powerlifiting and fine arts such as, Mariachi band, choir, and chess are now being enjoyed by our students. Thus, in order to meet the needs of our growing student population and expanding programs, our staff has gone from 349 to 553. Consequently, 77% of our general budget is personnel payroll, a tremendous economic impact to our community.

During my 22 years of service, standardized testing has been introduced through three different assessments: TAAS, TAKS, STAAR; each assessment being more rigorous and comprehensive than the previous. I have provided this background information because I feel that in order to carry out your responsibility as a school trustee, it is important to understand that public education is a moving target so therefore, school trustees must evolve as education continues to. I believe I continue to make the effort to evolve by consistently exceeding the number of continuing education credits the Texas Education Agency requires of school trustees.

In 2004, because of my consistent involvement in public education, I was elected by my school boards colleagues, to represent the 37 school districts in Region 1 on the statewide Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Region 1 includes all the school districts from Laredo to Brownsville. In 2012, I was elected by the entire state school districts to serve as a TASB Officer. In this role, I represented Texas districts at the national level for three years. In 2012, I concurrently served as a TASB Officer and also as President of (MASBA) Mexican American School Boards Association. During the 2016 National School Board Association (NSBA) convention, I was elected to serve on the NSBA Hispanic Council Southern as Regional Director. I believe my experiences are significant because as a school district we are tasked with the responsibility of graduating students who can compete globally. I deduce this is only possible if as school trustees, we are willing to invest time in looking beyond our local area, through state and national exposure. I have always been proud to participate and contribute in the development of the best school district and community we can offer our children in La Feria.

Some may argue that I am not a true La Ferian because I am not born as a La Ferian, but I planted roots here a long time ago, 1977, and realized the many benefits, personally, of our school district and community. I am the proud mother of four children who graduated from La Feria High School, with honors, and continued on to post-secondary educations and successful careers. My husband Jaime Casas and I have been married for 44 years and both Jaime and I are heavily vested in our community. We have been members of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church for 39 years. Both Jaime and I recently retired from long careers which included my 25 years as a clinic administrator, 25 years in the field of community development and Jaime’s 39 years as a medical social worker.

In closing, the only thing that makes me more proud of how far LFISD has come is where it’s headed. Therefore, because of the examples I have listed of my initiatives and experience, I believe I am best suited to continue to advocate for the students and parents of LFISD. Please consider that a vote for me is a vote to continue 22 years of leadership with experience and integrity. I humbly ask for your vote in the upcoming election, November 8th.

Michelle Gomez Vela

My name is Michelle Vela Gomez, and I would humbly ask for your vote for La Feria School Board, Place 1. My family moved to La Feria when I was 5 years old. We have been part of this awesome La Feria community ever since we bought a home and property on Solis Road. I graduated from La Feria high school in 1993, where I was a part of the volleyball, track and basketball teams. Although I wasn’t at the top ten percent of my class, I worked hard to earn my grades in order to participate in all the extracurricular activities. Like many families who grew up down here in the RGV, during the summer months my family and I migrated to the northern states in order to work in the fields. This experience taught me at a young age the value of hard work and the value of money.

After graduation, I went to work for the La Feria ISD as a paraprofessional, while going to a community college. During my 10 years of working with the students, I developed a great relationship with the students in my classes. This special connection is still evident today when I see them at high school games or community events. To better my career, I left La Feria ISD to become a real estate agent. It was such a special feeling helping my ex-students and their families find a home to buy or rent.

In addition, I have four wonderful children who have been attending the La Feria ISD all their lives. All of their teachers can attest that I am a constant fixture in my children’s education. My children have enjoyed intramural sports as well as being a part of the little league teams. I volunteered to be a softball coach and a basketball coach for the city of La Feria for ten years. I was able to teach the kids the value of teamwork and good sportsmanship. I have been extremely proud watching my kids grow up right in front of my eyes.

As a single mom, I know exactly how certain challenges might change one’s immediate goals. I grew up knowing what it means to work hard and how painful it is when you see money wasted or thrown away. I have been very proud of the fact that La Feria ISD has been part of my own life and the lives of my kids. I have been a member of various committees for the city of La Feria and LFISD. I have volunteered my services at the downtown festivals, high school gaming events and community fund raisers. My life and the lives of my kids have been heavily invested in the La Feria ISD. My five-year-old daughter is beginning her education in the school system. My high school friends now have children of their own going to the same schools as my kids. This brings me to one of the main reasons why I have decided to run for school board. I would like to make a positive impact by helping our district improve at every level.

The world of education is changing constantly because of the global and domestic demands we face every day. I believe we need to give our kids a fighting chance to get ready for college, trade school or any other post-secondary education or pathway. Many children in our community require special attention in order to succeed. They need skills that are more practical for the work environment they are going to encounter. I believe that our district needs to accommodate our more challenging student population because all students can learn and succeed. I believe office/relevant skills can be developed while attaining their high school education. Practical lessons that do not require extra capital just ingenuity and a genuine desire to help them succeed.

I have no desire or patience to play favoritism or get entangled in dirty politics. There is too much at stake and too much work that needs to be done to move our district forward. We need to hire the right people for the job. We also need to make sure that the money we spend is the best value for our dollar. It should be our priority to live within our means without having to amend the budget several times during the school year.

Citizens who know me, know that that one of my goals has always been to improve student performance. My ultimate goal is to do what is best for our students and our hard working teachers. I will need your help in electing me as the next LFISD school board member, Place 1.

Place 2 Candidate

Ruben Zambrano

Hello, my name is Ruben R. Zambrano and I would like tell you a little bit about myself and why I am running for your La Feria ISD School Board. I am a lifelong resident of La Feria, and I love our community and our school district. In 2001, I graduated from La Feria High School. After high school I attended The University of Texas Pan American and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a minor in Biology. I am lucky enough to be married to my high school sweetheart Anna Marie Zambrano, who works at William B. Green Junior High. Together we have two daughters, Haley Marie Zambrano and Sophia Christina Zambrano. Over the last 10 years I have worked as a public educator at Lyford CISD and La Feria ISD. Recently, I have changed my career path and now work for the Department of Public Safety as a Texas State Trooper.

Personally, I feel that the children in our community are our biggest asset. As a community we owe it to our youth to protect them, raise them, nurture them and guide them. I believe that my experience as an educator allows me to offer a unique perspective to the La Feria School Board that will help us fulfill our goals. This election I am running unopposed, and I feel it is such an honor to be serving the community that I grew up in. I am humbled to have the opportunity to help make decisions that will have a large impact on the future generations of La Feria. During my term I intend to work with my fellow board members in any way possible to help create a better school district. Some of the things that I think are important to address are improving the communication between the school district and the city; continuing to create more opportunities for our students to have meaningful experiences and education outside of the traditional classroom and classes; and to elevate LFISD to one of the premier public school districts the State of Texas has to offer.

I encourage all of you to get out and vote. Choose the candidate that you feel will offer the best opportunities for positive change in our district. While many of us are done with our education now is the time to ensure that our youth have every opportunity to enjoy an even better education than ours. They deserve and need it if we are to grow stronger as a community.

I would like to wish the other candidates good luck and look forward to helping make La Feria ISD the best district in the State of Texas. Thank you once again for the opportunity to serve you.

Place 3 Candidates

Robert Leal

My appreciation to La Feria News for giving me the opportunity to present myself to the community members who do not know who I am, and why I would be a positive addition to the current La Feria School Board of Trustees. My name is Robert “Venado” Leal. Most people who know me refer to me as “Venado.” I was born and raised in La Feria. I have always been very interested in the quality of public education and what we are able tο present to our children in La Feria. For this reason, I have been involved in school board elections for many years.

In 2014, I decided to run for a position on the school board, and I lost to my opponent by less than 10% of the votes. It was a very good and positive experience. Since I was not elected to sit on the board, I decided for the past four years to attend all the school board meetings as possible. I found the meetings very interesting and when I did not understand something presented in the meeting, I would make an appointment with the Superintendent and ask for clarity on some issues. I believe that in order to understand how our school district is working, it is important to attend as many meetings possible. Through my attendance of the meetings, I have witnessed the challenges and successes La Feria School District has addressed and enjoyed.

We have approximately 3600 students who participate in the many programs we have within the La Feria School District. I have witnessed many students recognized for their accomplishments at each board meeting. Students are doing great things and we as a community need to provide the resources for students to meet their life long goals. I believe that it is important for all students to have the opportunity to be successful.

I am asking the community to give me the opportunity to be a member of the board that will work for the next four years to address the needs of our 600 plus students and of our over 500 staff members. Students need to have what they need and teachers and staff need to be paid the salary they deserve. This needs to be met within our budget and grants that we can apply for. If I am elected, I want to commit myself to attending all available educational programs for a trustee to grow. I look forward to serving you and to being a part of a successful school district. I am a business person and think like a business person when making decisions. I have a huge heart for my community. La Feria ISD has been successful for many years, and I would like to be given the opportunity to be a part of it.

Michael Martinez

Hello, my name is Michael Andrew Martinez. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a little bit of information about myself and tell you why I believe I am the best candidate for La Feria I.S.D. School Board Place 3.

I was blessed to attend and graduate LFHS in 2002. During my years in La Feria, I was involved in many extra curricular activities, and graduated as number 6 in my class. As a student,I knew what it was to juggle everything from tennis, to U.I.L., to band practice and managed to still maintain my grades. I had great coaches, teachers, and parents to help me achieve the goals that I had set for myself.

In 2005 I married my high school sweetheart Jennifer Joy Martinez, who works as an Ultrasound Technologist in the medical field. We have two beautiful daughters who attend C.E. Vail Elementary, Liana Michelle Martinez and Anali Joy Martinez. I am currently the Assistant Manager for GCR Tires and Service, and have been with the company for 5 years. Now as a parent I understand even more the importance of a strong foundation in education.

I believe it takes structure, discipline, and teamwork to maintain and establish a successful education system. As a member of the school board, I would assist in playing the role of a watch dog for the community, as we ensure that students get the best education for the tax dollars spent. It is vital that students have not only great teachers and coaches, but the equipment and necessities to progress.

As a resident of La Feria for the past 32 years, I believe I have the knowledge and personal experience that will help me to provide leadership and build a vision we can all share in. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and this great city of La Feria as a La Feria I.S.D. School Board Member!