Three-person race for Sharyland ISD Place 1 trustee

Leonor Garcia and Rene Morales seek to unseat Meagan Sullivan from Place 1 on the Sharyland ISD Board of Trustees.

LEONOR GARCIA

Garcia is a businesswoman and former family and community engagement coordinator for La Joya ISD. She believes her experience with finances and community building makes her an asset to the SISD school board. ​

“My profession has always been of service, helping students and families and our community and bridging those things together,” Garcia said. “So now I think it’s a good opportunity to bring that expertise and experience [to the district].” ​

The Place 1 candidate is a mother of two with one child in SISD’s 18+ special education program. If elected, she vows to be an advocate for students with special needs.

“We really want to make sure that we’re supporting our most vulnerable students and our most vulnerable parents,” the 40-year-old said. “As a mother, I’ve always been the voice of my kids and hope to be the voice of many other kids that are in the special education program. Many of our students are nonverbal and have difficulty with communication, and I always want to be that person that can support our parents that are navigating through that system.”

The local businesswoman explained that her primary goal is to educate the community and the district so they may make informed decisions.​

“I’m used to hosting meetings for large groups of parents and really understanding and trying to improve our programs with parent feedback, and I want to do that for Sharyland,” Garcia said. “I want to build that bridge because we are all Sharyland ISD families. I hear them and I hope I’m given the opportunity and earn the people’s trust and vote so they can see the difference I can make.” ​

RENE MORALES

Morales is the assistant director of the Hidalgo Police Department Law Enforcement Academy with six years of experience as a classroom teacher. And he’s the father of children at Wernecke Elementary.

As a law enforcement officer, student safety is a high priority for Morales, and his heart lies in advocating for more school funding at the state capitol.​

“I went to the last legislative session to advocate because I think it’s important that they add certain requirements for the [school safety] program. There was some funding for it, but not a lot,” Morales said. “So I think that we still need to fight more at the state level to get more funds to be able to enhance our safety and security at our school; not just implement stuff at the state level but be able to fund it as well.”​

The Place 1 candidate has law enforcement connections at the local, state and federal levels. He believes his ties could be influential when it comes to school safety and providing Certified Technical Education (CTE) opportunities for students.​

Currently, the city of Hidalgo’s Law Enforcement Academy is working with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to provide a certified dispatch program and a jailer program — two CTE avenues that he would like to introduce to Sharyland. ​

“I will continue advocating for students whether I’m a board member or not,” he said. “Student safety is my passion; it’s something I’ve always done. I will continue advocating for CTE programs…I think that will fix some of the shortages and shortfalls that we have in law enforcement here right now.”  ​

Since running in the 2023 election against Place 5 Trustee Hector Rivera, Morales said he likes what he’s seeing at the school district. From his perspective, the board members are listening to the community, and he wants to continue moving forward.​

If elected, the Place 1 hopeful said he would like the district to incorporate quarterly town halls to meet with constituents in a more informal setting and hear their concerns.

“I plan to be there and be my own voice, but also be the voice of the people that are out there. You can always call me and I’ll bring [the issue] to someone’s attention and have transparency and accountability for myself and the district,” Morales said. “I can’t say that I’m going to go in there and make everything better because I’ve never sat in that seat, but I’m there to learn, I’m there to do what I need to do and I’m there to provide whatever state and federal resources that I can.” ​

MEAGAN SULLIVAN

Sullivan is a longtime educator with a focus on special education and 15 years of experience at Sharyland ISD alone.​

The current Place 1 trustee is also a soon-to-be Master Trustee — a title for an elite group of Texas Association of School Board members who complete the year-long leadership program for select members.​

Master Trustees are considered the highest level of school board trustee, she said. And Sullivan is the first in Sharyland history to go through the program.​

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are a better trustee than not,” Sullivan explained. “But we are certainly better prepared, more well-informed and more well-rounded in knowing about the challenges and the road ahead for public education.”

The incumbent has spent the last year touring school districts around the state, gaining insight into their operations and successes and bringing those ideas back to Sharyland.​

She said one of the biggest eye openers has been the level of transparency from other boards and districts. And although Sullivan believes Sharyland has made “significant improvements,” there’s still room for growth.​

“One of my beefs with us is that I think we need more open discussion about topics, not because we disagree, but sometimes for the reason that we don’t disagree,” the Place 1 trustee said. “Even when we come to the same decision, we didn’t all come there from the same path. We’re seeing things in a different perspective and may not know that the person next to us is giving the same vote, but for a completely different reason. And I think we, as individual leaders, but more importantly, the community that we serve, have a lot to gain from hearing those conversations.”​

Sullivan said she’s aware Sharyland has a reputation for operating privately, but she does what she can to be accessible to the community. One of her rituals is posting short videos to social media where she explains certain topics or clarifies misconceptions she’s heard within the community.​

“I can’t always answer the question, I can’t always give the information they want, but that’s not going to stop me from willingly engaging,” she said.​

The Place 1 incumbent believes her perspective as an educator, trustee and parent gives her the unique expertise to continue representing the community on the Sharyland school board.

“What I feel like is that I’m just getting started, and I’m doing a really good job. I have developed relationships across the state, I’m actively involved with groups across the state, spending time with Austin lawmakers and working towards changing how ISDs get funded…” Sullivan explained. “That’s not going to happen with either of my opponents as new trustees. Those relationships aren’t there and that experience isn’t there.”

Early voting begins April 20 and runs until April 28. Polling locations will close April 21 and April 26. Election Day is May 2.