Educator/Businesswoman Files for State Board of Education

Educator and businesswoman Georgina Perez has filed with the Texas Democratic Party to run for the State Board of Education.

In an election cycle that has thus far been pretty safe for incumbents Perez tossed her hat in the ring for a position currently held by Martha Dominguez.

Dominguez will be familiar to some because the last time she ran, she actually tried to withdraw from the race but because of filing errors was unable to be removed from the ballot. She ended up winning the election and has been the area's representative to the State Board of Education ever since.

"The SBOE is an important entity that has been hijacked by extremists that are more concerned with advancing an ultra-conservative agenda and rewriting text books than they have been overseeing the education of Texas youth. El Paso needs a strong voice to advocate on our behalf and I think I bring that tenacity to the table", Perez said.

Perez said running a family business and her years in the classroom have given her the experience necessary to be an advocate for the community. Over the last few years Perez, in addition to running a family business, teaching and pursuing higher education, has been coordinating a project to get books into the hands of students in the rural areas around El Paso.

Perez went on to say, "Most kids who live outside of the city of El Paso don't have regular access to a library. Reading is one of the building blocks of education and is one of the few means to escape the cycle of poverty. Through the generosity of many businesses and community members we have been successful in getting over 20,000 books into the hands of thousands of students in the rural communities."

Dominguez has given no indication as to whether or not she will be seeking re-election. The filing deadline is a week from today. The SBOE district covers several counties in west Texas.