An unusually high-profile race to signify San Antonio ISD’s District 1 faculty seat is pitting a rising progressive star backed by the instructor’s union towards a longtime state lawmaker with highly effective allies within the enterprise and constitution faculty communities.
SAISD’s board of trustees has handled quite a lot of high-profile, emotionally-charged choices lately to take care of price range deficits and declining enrollment.
Final 12 months the district opted to shut 15 campuses and lease them out to nonprofits to generate profits, lay off scores to employees so as to price range for instructor pay raises, and play hard-ball with builders of a Minor League Baseball stadium that district leaders stated would exacerbate the scarcity of inexpensive household housing.
Examine all the SAISD faculty board candidates on our 2025 Schooling Voter Information.
Towards that backdrop, two of 4 incumbents up for reelection this 12 months face contested races through which the instructor’s union and a business-centric training PAC have every backed candidates.
District 1 Trustee Sarah Sorensen is an SAISD father or mother with a background in venture administration and public coverage analysis and advocacy who was elected in 2021 with the backing of the San Antonio Alliance — SAISD instructor’s union.
In her first time period, she says she championed transparency and inclusion of extra stakeholder voices within the instructor wage battle, incomes her the endorsement of the native Democratic Socialists of America group.
She was additionally a vocal opponent of promoting an SAISD-owned parking zone to facilitate the brand new Missions’ baseball stadium — at the price of a number of the metropolis’s final naturally occurring inexpensive residences — fueling hypothesis a few potential Metropolis Council bid at one level.
“The rationale I went and ran for the college board was as a result of I felt that I had one thing to present due to my expertise,” Sorensen, who has a grasp’s diploma in public affairs and coverage, stated throughout an April 10 interview. “Some other resolution about working for workplace is secondary, not one thing I really actually take into account.”
Her opponent this 12 months, Mike Villarreal, was additionally as soon as seen as a rising star amongst some Democrats. He has a grasp’s in public coverage from the Harvard Kennedy College and served within the Texas Home for 15 years earlier than working unsuccessfully for San Antonio mayor in 2017.
At the moment, Villarreal owns two corporations and is the founding director of UTSA’s City Schooling Institute, the place he carried out analysis and knowledge initiatives on Ok-12 and better training.
He’s additionally married to Jeanne Russell, the manager director of CAST Faculties in San Antonio, that are in-district constitution faculties that provide profession and technical training with a deal with STEM.
Villarreal advised the Report he’s working for SAISD’s faculty board to enhance educational outcomes, embrace “innovation” from educators and trim SAISD’s central workplace to make it “as environment friendly as potential.”
His marketing campaign has attracted help from the San Antonio Youngsters First PAC, a bunch aligned with the Charles Butt Basis that has gone up towards the academics’ union and supported extra enterprise and constitution school-friendly candidates.
Early voting for the Might 3 election runs Tuesday, April 22 by April 29.
Fault strains amongst training supporters
Whereas different San Antonio-area faculty board races lately have featured conservative teams in search of to make inroads on boards they’ve accused of veering left, this 12 months’s SAISD races have divided public training advocates alongside some totally different fault strains.
Academics’ unions, an organized political bloc, are inherently skeptical of constitution faculties, which rent non-union staff.
In the meantime, populist faculty board members in a district with main political choices on its fingers, have drawn ire from a neighborhood enterprise group that’s additionally invested in public training.
This 12 months the instructor’s union and enterprise leaders are additionally cut up on SAISD’s District 3 race, the place union-backed Jacob Aaron Ramos, an SAISD father or mother and political newcomer, is working towards Leticia Ozuna, a former San Antonio councilwoman. Ozuna has raised $14,000 and Ramos has raised $7,200.
Sorensen has raised barely over $6,000 for her marketing campaign in accordance with finance experiences. Almost half of her marketing campaign’s funding got here from the San Antonio Instructor Alliance. The remainder of Sorensen’s marketing campaign cash got here from smaller particular person donations — Sorensen donated two {dollars} and 50 cents to herself, one thing she referred to as a “hiccup” that occurred whereas taking part in a DSA fundraising occasion the place she checked the improper field.
Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance — the district’s instructor and help employees union — stated her group endorsed Sorensen for a second time period as a result of she’s advocated for points vital to the union.
“For instance, smaller class sizes, extra instructor planning time and aggressive raises for academics and help employees,” Lopez stated.
She additionally credited Sorensen with pushing for SAISD faculty board conferences to be translated to Spanish and pushing for extra group engagement in district decision-making by the creation of citizen committees.
Villarreal’s supporters, alternatively, say the board wants totally different management when making monetary choices with main penalties on the road.
When SAISD’s board of trustees voted to shut 15 faculties in 2023 with a 5-2 vote, Sorensen voted within the minority to downsize and tried to cease faculty closures at each flip.
“That’s not management,” stated Mario Barrera, a neighborhood enterprise chief and public training champion, who chaired the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and donated $1,000 to Villarreal’s marketing campaign. “I used to be horrified at her actions in the course of the 2023 downsizing efforts by the college district.”
Barrera, who’s labored with the district’s basis and efficiently ran the 2016 and 2020 bond campaigns, stated SAISD ought to’ve closed north of 23 faculties as a substitute of 15 to deal with falling enrollment.
Sorensen shook off the criticism, saying somebody must go towards the established order of the college board, even when it has made her a “goal.” That’s why she ran for workplace in 2021, efficiently unseating two-term trustee Steve Lecholop — Barrera additionally endorsed Lecholop throughout that race.
Sorensen believes it’s her knack for talking out, in addition to the district’s bodily location within the coronary heart of San Antonio’s downtown, which has stirred an “outsized” curiosity from enterprise and group leaders within the faculty board race.
“I perceive that some folks come to, you recognize, a perspective that having a united entrance alerts one thing … For me, it’s extra vital to talk to the issues which are locally, and if the vote we’re taking up doesn’t deal with these issues — if it doesn’t meet the usual I wanted to fulfill, I’m gonna vote no,” Sorensen stated.
Allies in excessive locations
Villarreal has rallied quite a lot of space Democrats to his facet for the race, together with U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, and Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), who donated $300 to Villareal’s marketing campaign in accordance with finance experiences. General, Villarreal’s marketing campaign has raised roughly $20,000.
Barrera touted Villarreal’s expertise as a state lawmaker after which as an training researcher and knowledge analyst, calling him a “metrics guru.”
“[Villarreal] talks to you. He doesn’t discuss right down to you… For these causes, it was simple for me to say ‘Mike, put a enroll in my entrance yard,’” stated Barrera, who can be supporting Ozuna for district 3.
The San Antonio Alliance declined to touch upon Villarreal’s marketing campaign. In an interview, nevertheless, he sought to assuage issues about his constitution faculty connections.
SAISD has three CAST faculties — CAST Med, CAST Tech Excessive College and Superior Studying Academy — however CAST Med co-located with one other CAST faculty after the board voted to shut 15 faculties and relocate three others.
“If there’s a vote that comes up particularly about CAST faculties, I can’t vote on it,” Villarreal stated throughout an interview April 11, including that CAST faculties have been beneficial to SAISD. “We needs to be on the lookout for extra companions like that who assist SAISD enhance their scholar outcomes.
Completely different visions for San Antonio ISD
Villarreal’s imaginative and prescient for the district consists of having a “lean, extremely environment friendly, efficient central workplace that’s delivering on the core providers that faculties need, and nothing else.”
“I don’t assume my trustee is doing her job to offer accountability, to set route and transfer the superintendent in the best route,” Villarreal stated, including that he would’ve by no means been neglected of the choice to shut faculties, which Sorensen staunchly opposed from the start.
Whereas Villarreal did help the choice to downsize, he stated educational outcomes, fairly than simply enrollment, ought to’ve been factored in when deciding which faculties to shut.
The longterm politician is banking on his expertise negotiating with Republican leaders on the state stage to be efficient on the board and work with enterprise leaders which will bump up towards the district with regards to downtown developments.
“I used to be efficient as a result of I feel I’m largely diplomatic,” Villarreal stated about his time within the Texas Legislature. “However I’m clear spoken, and I’m prepared to barter. I’m an excellent listener. I largely wish to remedy issues. Let me rewrite that. I simply wish to remedy issues. I’ll work with anyone.”
Sorensen stated she’s unclear what Villarreal’s imaginative and prescient for the position is, however going up towards a seasoned politician doesn’t intimidate her.
“I’m centered on working a marketing campaign on my accomplishments, of which there have been many since I’ve been on the board for 4 years,” Sorensen stated. “Within the district, our price range course of went from having one spreadsheet for your complete district price range to having a number of price range workshops …. we’ve additionally created the Residents Finances Advisory Committee.”
In the case of Challenge Marvel, the bold sports activities and leisure district proposed for downtown San Antonio, each candidates stated they’d negotiate methods for the district to profit from the event.
“It’s our job to carry metropolis leaders, builders accountable … Which means, you recognize, type of holding a agency line initially,” Sorensen stated. “These are enormous initiatives that we’re investing some huge cash in as a group, and we do have a proper to ensure that we’re getting a return out of that.”
Villarreal stated downtown developments are alternatives for the district to associate with enterprise leaders extra.
“No matter venture comes up the place one among our companions knocks on our door and asks us for one thing. Nicely, that’s a possibility to ask them for one thing,” Villarreal stated. “How does it affect us? How can we profit from any proposal they’re shifting ahead?”
Board stays impartial
As for the present SAISD faculty board, members are remaining impartial to take care of collaboration amongst trustees.
Former mayor Ed Garza, who represents single-member District 7 on the SAISD board, stated he’s recognized Villarreal for years as a state and native chief who’s been a “service” to the San Antonio group.
He’s additionally gotten to know Sorensen as a fellow trustee, who he stated has labored in tandem with the remainder of the board in growing a “widespread imaginative and prescient” for the district and “mutual targets” for the superintendent.
“Once we’ve disagreed, it’s been uncommon, however on massive points I can see the place her perspective was coming from and why she took a special place,” Garza stated about Sorensen.
Garza stated he’ll “let the voters make that call” in what he described as a neck and neck faculty board race.
“It’s coming right down to which candidate has the very best organized marketing campaign that may get their voters to the polls throughout early voting in addition to election day throughout a really busy Fiesta season,” Garza stated.
