WILL TSTA DISDAIN EDUCATOR WITH MASTER'S DEGREE IN FAVOR Of PROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN SAID TO HAVE ONLY A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA?

By Juan Montoya
If early rumors are any indication, the Texas State Teachers Association may endorse a man with only a high-school diploma who has never taught a class over a career educator who has a master's degree and has spent her lifetime as an educator and district administrator.
Former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Ruben Cortez, who was defeated by Dr. Enrique Escobedo in the 2010 trustee elections is running for one of 15 seats on the Texas School Board of Education. This year all 15 seats are up for grabs and Cortez, who got himself elected to the Region One board of directors last year is vying for one of them.
State Board of Education – District 2, serves the counties of Aransas, Calhoun, Cameron, Goliad, Jackson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton and Willacy, as well as parts of Hidalgo County.
He faces Celeste Zepeda Sanchez of San Benito who announced her candidacy for the position for the District 2 seat after Mary Helen Berlanga, a long time serving board member, chose not to seek re-election.
The differences in their qualifications should be a no-brainer. But in South Texas, it has become apparent that it's who you know, not what you know.
During the BISD board campaign, his opponent ran and ad in the local daily stating that Cortez has only a high school diploma. After he was ousted from the BISD board, he has been hounded by a spate of lawsuits in federal and state courts charging him and the majority he formed with everything ranging from conspiracy to rig insurance bids, retaliation against district employees, and violation of First Amendment rights.
Currently two such lawsuits are still being heard in the courts. One of them involves the termination of the district's former Chief Financial Officer Tony Juarez. The other involves the former superintendent who alleges Cortez and the majority he formed conspired to fire him after he refused to join them in ousting Juarez after what the former CFO claims was a bogus "investigation" to justify the nonrenewal of his contact.
A third lawsuit filed against the majority by former Special Needs Director Art Rendon was settled and Rendon was reemployed with the district and received back pay as well as attorneys fees.
On the other hand, with 45 years of experience in education, Sanchez has breadth and depth of experience ranging from her early years as an elementary school teacher that followed her migrant students to Michigan providing summer classes for these Texas school children to serving as the Director of the Gifted and Talented Program at San Benito ISD.
That was followed by a position as Assistant Superintendent with the Edgewood School District in San Antonio, Texas.
She currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum with the San Benito School District where she has focused on curriculum innovation, technology enhancements, and successful efforts in external funding through sponsored grant programs.
On her website, Sanchez proposes to focus her efforts while on the TSBOE on issues of curriculum, school finance, and public school accountability measures.
Sanchez holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Texas A&M-Kingsville.
“As the grandmother of children in Texas Public Schools, I want my grandchildren and all children to attend safe schools where teachers have the resources, the technology and the environment necessary for children to learn and thrive.” says Sanchez.
She resides in San Benito, Texas, and currently serves on the City Commission as well as numerous other decision making boards.
Now, if the results of a poll conducted in May by the Texas Freedom Network are indicative of the way the people of Texas feel, the TSTA, by endorsing Cortez, may show itself to be totally out of step with the public.
The poll found that "72 percent of likely Texas voters want teachers and scholars, not politicians, to be responsible for writing curriculum requirements for public schools."
We contacted Sanchez to inquire about the early indications that the TSTA might pick Cortez over her for their endorsement.
"This would be incredible," she said. "What kind of message would the teachers organization be sending to the people of Texas? You would think that they would encourage everyone to get an education and continue on to college and get a degree. For the TSTA to do something like this would be an insult to all of those teachers and parents who encourage students to strive to achieve higher and get an education."