SAN BENITO — As a former teacher and assistant principal, school board president Michael Vargas’ favorite part about being a member of the board is being able to look through the lens of an educator and knowing how to make positive impacts on students’ lives.
Vargas received an award last Saturday during a Texas Association of School Boards Delegate Assembly for his service on the Legislative Advisory Council and for serving as a representative on the TASB Legislative Committee.
For the past two years, Vargas served as a delegate to the TASB Assembly.
In 2016, he was elected to the council out of about 40 members from Region One school districts from Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron counties.
Soon after, he was elected out of more than 90 people and was one of four to serve on the Legislative Committee for TASB Board of Directors.
According to Vargas, he was the youngest person and the only board member from the Valley to be elected since 1991.
“I was 29 at the time,” Vargas said. “It was my second year on the board so it happened pretty quickly. It’s not pretty typical for somebody in their first term to get elected to these positions, which is pretty exciting for me.”
Vargas said he enjoys being able to represent the Valley. He believes being a member of TASB would be a great experience for other Valley board members to participate in because not only does it put school districts in the limelight, but it also shines light on the Valley as a whole.
“Making an impact at the state level and knowing how much of a big impact I’d have in my position was probably the biggest excitement for me and is something I looked forward to when I was elected,” Vargas said.
