Nine candidates vying for seats on Edinburg school board

Four incumbents on the Edinburg school board will face challengers for their seats in November.

Place 1 incumbent Dominga “Minga” Vela, an educator and the board’s current president, will seek to defend her seat against two challengers.

Vela will run against Frank Lara, a marketer and Jaime Cavazos, who is retired.

In Place 2, incumbent Oscar Salinas, an educator, will vie against challenger Letty Flores, who works in regional marketing for The Monitor.

Meanwhile, Place 3 incumbent Leticia “Letty” Garcia, who works for Hidalgo County, will compete against business owner Maricela “Mari” De León for that seat while Place 5 incumbent and educator Xavier Salinas will face Shelly Duffey, a physical therapist.

So far, the biggest news out of Edinburg CISD this school year is enrollment. Last month the district reported being up about 4,200 students year-to-date, a drastic 15% increase that’s already prompted the board to purchase several additional portable buildings.

Whichever candidates come out on top this November will likely find themselves dealing with that enrollment increase as well.

The increase is a trend-breaker for local traditional districts — which have largely seen enrollment trend downward or stagnate in recent years — and is all around good news for Edinburg CISD.

The election will be held on Nov. 5.