The La Joya Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to appoint Juan Jose “J.J.” Luna its sole remaining vacant seat.
Former Place 6 trustee Oscar “Coach” Salinas vacated that seat in March after pleading guilty to extortion in federal court.
Despite clamor to fill that seat through an election, the board missed its deadline to call a special election for this summer and was obligated to fill place 6 and place 5 — also vacated after a federal guilty plea — through appointment.
Because of that Luna will serve a fairly short term, just two months. The seat will be filled through the regular election in November, and Luna says he hasn’t filed to run in that election, although he’s not ruling out the possibility of a lengthier career on the board down the road.
“My dream or my hope is to get my feet wet these next two months, and then come back in two years and seek a place on the board,” he said.
Luna taught history at the district for 20 years. He says he was a founder of La Joya ISD’s branch of the American Federation of Teachers and served as its president for a time, though he was released from his position at the union in May and is currently angling for a career in the insurance business.
Over the next two months, Luna says his priorities will be security and mental health.
“I want to make sure that all schools are safe,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want to have a repeat of what happened in Uvalde. That is happening in a lot of places around our country.”
Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Luna to the seat, but they disagreed on whether or not to discuss that appointment publicly.
Trustees Alex Cantu and Nereyda Cantu both advocated for holding a discussion on the appointment in open session rather behind closed doors.
“And just for the record, my reason for wanting it out here is just to be as transparent as possible,” Nereyda Cantu said. “I think I was in favor of a special election for this appointment, and that wasn’t possible, so I feel that this, talking about this out here, would be the most appropriate way to make the community aware of our decision.”
They couldn’t sway any other trustees to their side, and trustees voted 4-2 against holding the talk in public.
With the appointment of Luna, the board also snubbed a candidate being pushed by an outside municipality.
The Sullivan City City Council approved a resolution last month backing applicant Lupe Chavez for the seat.
City Manager Ana Mercado directed The Monitor to submit an open records request for that resolution and said that the council taking that action was not uncommon.
Speaking prior to Wednesday’s appointment, La Joya ISD Board President Alda Benavides said she did find the resolution a little unusual. She noted, with an emphasis on tact, La Joya ISD can conduct its own business without municipal input.
“Based on everything that has happened, it’s best that we handle our school district business with our school board trustees based on the recommendations from administration,” she said. “And that the cities do their own.”
