Mission CISD trustees sworn into office

The Mission CISD incumbents swept the May 7 election, and on May 17 they were sworn into office, retaining their positions on the board of trustees. 

Judge Ignacio Mendoza swore in his wife, place 1 winner Veronica “Betty” Mendoza, who defeated her opponent Amanda Salinas O’Caña 3,109 votes to 1,850 votes. This win marks the start of Mendoza’s second full term as a trustee. 

Following the induction, the place 1 seatholder spoke about how tough this campaign was for her and how hard she worked to ensure her victory. Every day, after finishing up her day job as a life skills coach, Mendoza said she would take to the streets by foot to connect with community members. She expressed gratitude to her supporters, many of which attended the special board meeting. 

“I appreciate your confidence in me to guide us through this time to make decisions that are in the best interest of our children and our community,” she said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity. I promise to work hard to listen to questions you have so we can continue to provide our children with a high-quality education that will give them the life skills needed to be active, engaged, mindful and productive throughout their life.” 

Judge Nereida Singleterry swore in place 6 winner Petra Ramirez, who defeated her opponent Dolores “Loli” Reyna 2,431 votes to 2,315 votes. Although Ramirez won by a narrow margin, she earned just more than 51 percent of the vote, resulting in a victory without a runoff. 

With this election success, Ramirez begins her third term as a trustee for Mission CISD. The retired teacher said the road to this point has been too long for her, but she is grateful for the opportunity to be back on the board. 

“This position, to me, has been very meaningful for my eight years that I’ve been on the board serving,” she said. “I do what I do best, I think, because of my experience being in a school setting — [which is], in reality, from the age of 7 years old until 73, which is right now — and I’m still here, and hopefully I can go further on.” 

Judge Fernando Mancias swore in place 7 winner Minnie Rodgers, who defeated her opponent J.C. Avila 2,781 votes to 2,053 votes. This induction marks the beginning of Rodgers’ third term on the MCISD school board. Rodgers commented on how full the board room was during the special meeting. She urged parents and community members to keep attending meetings in the future. 

“We make decisions here. We know that we do the best that we can with decisions, but I think it’s important that you come to meetings, see what we do,” she said. “Pray for us because sometimes making decisions is not very easy for us. So please keep us on the board in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to do that.”