Mary Helen Berlanga, the outgoing incumbent on the Texas State Board of Education, has endorsed Celeste Zepeda Sanchez for the District 2 seat she now occupies in the runoff race against former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Ruben Cortez.
Berlanga didn't seek re-election to the seat which she has served in since 1982.
Sanchez is an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at San Benito Consolidated Independent School District.
Cortez, whose credentials do not go past a high school education certificate, and whose wife became a school principal while he was on teh BISD board, also serves on the Region 1 Education Service Center board.
Berlanga said she endorsed Sanchez because the candidate is focused on Texas' students and educators and has a passion for education.
"I feel that she knows that the children come first," Berlanga said.
Also on Wednesday, Sanchez, who holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in education, refuted some of the claims Cortez has made in his mailed campaign literature that she calls "blatantly false" and an attack on her credibility.
In one of his allegations, Cortez had said that the school district Sanchez worked for, two schools had been rated "unacceptable."
"Celeste has worked...for two school districts," her ad ran in today's daily. "One district had two unacceptable campuses for one year, both schools now meet state requirements used at teh time. Cortez insults the teachers and professionals who have worked hard to overcome state reporting technicalities."
And when Cortez charges that Sanchez resists 21st Century technologies, she responds that she "was instrumental in acquiring multiple grants, totaling millions of dollars, for the purchase of laptops, Promethean boards, and iPads."
Other allegations that Sanchez will not listen to classroom teachers and favors high-stakes testing are also soundly discarded by Sanchez who points out that "as a former teacher, she knows the importance of teacher input," and that her "statement on accountability realignment" has nothing to do with testing."
"If Cortez was a viable candidate for the Texas State Board of Education, he would know the difference."
Aside from Berlanga's endorsement, Sanchez has also been endorsed by the Corpus Christi-Caller in the Coastal Bend area. Runoff election is Tuesday, July 31.
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