Red Gold News

On Friday the 13th, La Joya ISD called a special board meeting at the La Joya Football stadium for a swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected board members as of the November third election. The newly elected school board trustees that have been sworn into office are Dr. Alda T. Benavides of Place 4, Armin Garza of Place 5, Oscar “Coach” Salinas of Place 6, and Alejandro Alex Cantu of Place 7.

Dr. Alda T. Benavides was the first sworn in and was done so by state representative Sergio Munoz Jr. . After pledging her oath to the board, she gave a speech thanking her family and supporters for encouraging her to run for office while also acknowledging those who have passed away recently.

“Especially Mr. Sergio Munoz Sr., who told me right before he went into the hospital, “you don’t have to wait for anyone to give you permission to run if you want to run, you run” he also told me that all super ex intendants win, and I guess he saw something that I didn’t because he was right.”

Following Dr. Alda T. Benavides’s speech, Armin Garza was then sworn in to the board by Rodrigo Lopez, the Mayor of the City of Penitas. Following Armin Garza’s pledge of the oath, he gave a speech giving gratitude to his supporters and family.

“One of the biggest people I want to say thank you to and show my gratitude, and I want them to know that they are the reason I am elected for another four years, is our voters and supporters. For a better part of six months, our supporters gave up days and nights in the cold weather, the hot weather, whatever it may be, but they gave up their time with their families because they believed in a vision that our slate put forth.”

Oscar “Coach” Salinas then followed suit and was sworn in as the school board secretary and was also sworn in by Mayor Rodrigo Lopez. As with the previously elected officials, after Oscar Omar Garcia took his oath, he also gave a speech except that he only said a small part of it in English and Spanish.

Oscar “Coach” Salinas starts off by thanking his family members for always being there for him and acknowledging some of the people that have passed away in his life recently.

He continued on by saying that if it weren’t for them then he would be where he is now.

He also stated that he would keep the promises he made throughout the campaign and ensure that La Joya ISD will come out on top of the other districts.

Alejandro Alex Cantu was the final of the four elected trustees to be sworn in and was succeeded by Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. Like the other elected officials, he also gave a speech thanking his many supporters and family members.

“Now it is not about one or two people; it is about all of us working together, we are in the middle of a crisis, and at the end of the day, we all have to work together to prove and be there for our community, our staff, and most importantly our students.”

Following this, School Board President Esperanza “Espie” Ochoa congratulates each of the elected members, and thanks everyone for coming to the meeting. Superintendent Dr. Gisela Saenz continues by thanking everyone that helped to make the meeting possible.

The meeting is then closed off with a presentation, including a firework display, a video of the district, and a music clip from the “Three Schools, One Voice” Mariachi and Folklorico concert from November of 2019. After the presentation, Espie Ochoa officially ends the meeting.

The meeting totaled to be about an hour, and due to many of the Covid-19 restrictions, very few people were in attendance. Some people were seated on the track, these being the elected officials’ family members, and a majority of people sat up in the stands cheering the newly elected board members on.