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Voters waited in line at the Converse Senior Center, Monday October 24 to cast their ballots in the midterm election. Four San Antonio independent School districts will appear on the upcoming May 2 General Election ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jessica Phelps<\/p>\n
Voters across four San Antonio independent school districts will soon elect new or returning trustees to school boards.\u00a0Alamo Heights, Medina Valley, North East and Southwest ISDs each have two open seats on the May 2 ballot. Early voting runs April 20-28.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Four candidates will compete for two at-large seats in the Medina Valley and Southwest\u00a0ISD races, while two incumbents face challengers on the Alamo Heights ISD ballot. Meanwhile, the two winners in a North East ISD race will serve four-year terms as the district grapples with enrollment loss, looming campus closures<\/a> and state intervention over its controversial student\u00a0cellphone ban.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Voters can check their registration, view sample ballots and find early voting locations and hours on the\u00a0Bexar County Elections Department website.<\/a><\/p>\n RELATED: In May election, Alamo Colleges candidates at odds over faculty voice, tenure<\/a><\/p>\n Alamo Heights\u00a0ISD<\/p>\n In the nearly 5,000-student enclave district of Alamo Heights ISD, two incumbents representing at-large districts face challengers. The winners will serve a three-year term.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In Place 4, challenger\u00a0Bianca Cerqueira, 40, a biomedical engineer<\/a>, filed against incumbent Hunter\u00a0Kingman, 42, a real estate developer<\/a> who has served as a trustee since 2024.<\/p>\n Ty Edwards is running to keep his Place 3 seat on the Alamo Heights Independent School District’s board of trustees.<\/p>\n Provided by Ty Edwards<\/p>\n Edwards served as treasurer of the\u00a0Alamo Heights School Foundation<\/a> prior to joining the board in 2023.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He said he has three core priorities for his re-election bid: sustaining the district\u2019s academic excellence, protecting\u00a0AHISD\u2019s financial strength and supporting its educators.<\/p>\n If re-elected, Edwards said he hopes to work on managing district funds to preserve the quality of programming in the face of financial pressure created by inadequate state funding. He said he is skilled in disciplined decision-making, community accountability and the responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, all areas he believes are necessary to be a good financial steward of the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n Edwards’ challenger, Saldana, became active in the AHISD community as a parent when she moved into the district with her family in 2018.\u00a0The assistant principal\u00a0is finishing her\u00a0doctoral degree in educational leadership at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The program has strengthened her understanding of school governance, policy and organization, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lindsey Saldana is running to represent Place 3 on the Alamo Heights Independent School District’s board of trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Lindsey Saldana<\/p>\n Over her 20 years in education,\u00a0Saldana said she has managed campus budgets, analyzed student data, led school initiatives and ensured compliance with district and state laws.\u00a0Saldana said she is passionate about giving students equal access to educational opportunities and supporting educators. If elected, she hopes to prioritize budget transparency, teacher retention and communication with the community.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She aims to accomplish these priorities\u00a0by pushing for competitive compensation and professional development opportunities for educators and budget decisions that are best for students while being accountable to the\u00a0AHISD community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is to be a trustee who listens, asks informed questions, and works collaboratively to support long term student success while preserving the unique strengths of Alamo Heights ISD,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Place 4, challenger Cerqueira hopes to bring transparency to the district, while\u00a0Kingman seeks to steward district funds responsibly.<\/p>\n A graduate of Alamo Heights ISD, Kingman now has four kids attending district schools. As other area districts have faced takeovers by the Texas Education Agency, he said he feels committed to preserving local district control.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hunter Kingman is running to keep his Place 4 seat on the Alamo Heights Independent School District’s board of trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Hunter Kingman<\/p>\n Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Kingman<\/a> to the board in 2024 after a former board president resigned. Now running to retain his seat,\u00a0Kingman\u2019s main focus is equipping all students for success beyond their time at Alamo Heights. \u00a0<\/p>\n The district faces a range of evolving challenges that require steady, thoughtful leadership, he said. These include navigating state funding constraints, addressing politicized pressures on public education and managing leadership transitions. Kingman said his work in real estate\u00a0allows him to focus on long-term planning, financial stewardship and delivering complex projects. He said these skills have translated to responsible governance as the district invests funds from its $371 million bond program that voters approved in<\/a> 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bianca Cerqueira is running to represent Place 4 on the Alamo Heights Independent School District’s board of trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Bianca Cerqueira<\/p>\n Cerqueira, who earned her doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas Health Science Center,\u00a0first moved to the district in 2005 when she was a student. She has served with Cambridge Elementary\u2019s parent-teacher organization\u00a0since she moved back to the district with her husband and kids in 2020. She has also worked as a homeroom mom at Cambridge Elementary for the past five years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She decided to run for the Place 4 seat because she felt disappointed with Alamo Heights ISD\u2019s\u00a0decision\u00a0to uninvite an author<\/a>, Chris Barton, who was supposed to give a talk to students. The district cited\u00a0Senate Bill 12<\/a>, which took effect Sept. 1, banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from K-12 public schools. AHISD officials said\u00a0parents complained about the\u00a0LGBTQ+ themes in some of Barton\u2019s books.<\/p>\n Cerqueira now hopes to modify district policies she believes to be \u201coverly restrictive\u201d around SB12.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a parent has issues with visiting author content, they can request that their child not participate,\u201d Cerqueira said. \u201cThe views of a single parent should not dictate what material the entire district can access.\u201d<\/p>\n She also proposed increasing the visibility of the board\u2019s activities\u00a0by publishing more details from board meetings and posting presentations alongside meeting minutes. If elected, Cerqueira said she would vote against book censorship\u00a0and educate the AHISD community about proposed State Board of Education policies that could affect students, including a proposed required reading list that includes Bible passages<\/a> and changes to social studies curriculum.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: What\u2019s in the $295M SCUCISD school bond on the May ballot?<\/a><\/p>\n Medina Valley ISD<\/p>\n Voters in the rapidly growing Medina Valley ISD<\/a> will elect two members to the school board this May. Four candidates are vying for two at-large seats in this election.<\/p>\n The district covers the far southwestern edge<\/a> of Bexar County.\u00a0Once largely rural, the area is becoming suburban, with new housing developments emerging along U.S. 90. While nearby districts are closing schools,<\/a> Medina Valley is opening new campuses<\/a>. The district opened Silos Elementary School in 2024 and plans to open Creek View High School in the coming school year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The district serves about 10,500 students, nearly double its 2018 total of about 5,400.\u00a0Earlier this month, the board chose a new superintendent: Emily Lorenz, who was leading a school system in the Corpus Christi area.<\/a><\/p>\n The two positions up for election are not tied to geographic boundaries, and the two candidates who earn the most votes will win a spot on the board. On the May ballot, two incumbents are seeking a second term in a race against two challengers.<\/p>\n Incumbent\u00a0Blane Nash, 43, said his experience over the past three years is why he should return to the board. During his tenure as a trustee, he thinks the board has changed from one of\u00a0 \u201ca small district to a rapidly growing district,\u201d in the way it governs and makes decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve had some good success. I think the district overall is in a better place three years later,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Nash, a former firefighter and paramedic who now owns a custom homebuilding company, was elected in 2023 with 1,280 votes, the most of any candidate that year.\u00a0Managing what he calls \u201cpositive growth\u201d in\u00a0student enrollment\u00a0and listening to parents and community members will guide his decisions, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a politician. I don\u2019t claim to be a politician. Being on a school board is a political role, obviously, but I really just stand for common sense,\u201d Nash said. \u201cEvery time we make a decision, the question is, just, \u2018is this good for kids? \u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Board President Nathan Fillinger,\u00a0who is also up for reelection, did not respond to requests for comment. Fillinger works as an information technology architect at USAA and has served on the board since 2023.<\/p>\n Andrew Carawan, 45, wants to maintain Medina Valley ISD\u2019s small-town values, if he is elected.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the things that made our district really great were some of the kind of small-town values,\u201d Carawan said. \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the biggest issues, is how do you keep those values in a growing district, you know, as San Antonio starts to spread out west.\u201d<\/p>\n A retired teacher, Carawan, previously taught special education, science and social studies classes at Medina Valley High School for 16 years. He wants the district to take a stricter approach to discipline, address overcrowding and limit student distractions from devices during instruction.\u00a0He also wants\u00a0Medina Valley ISD to further invest in career and technical education courses. Those courses usually entail classes like\u00a0welding, auto mechanics, culinary arts or agriculture.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith politicians always pushing this \u2018college above all else,\u2019 you see this school start to reflect that,\u201d\u00a0Carawan said. \u201cI went to college, and I got my master\u2019s\u00a0\u2014 but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Toby Castillo Walters, an academic dean at Northside ISD\u2019s Jordan Middle School on San Antonio\u2019s Far West Side, is also running for the board. He previously ran for a single member trustee seat on the board in 2025 and is a graduate of Medina Valley High School. He did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On his campaign website<\/a>, Walters wrote he is running for school board to \u201cstop the academic decline in our district by demanding equitable, transparent, and defensible spending while accelerating academic growth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n North East ISD<\/p>\n San Antonio\u2019s second largest school district, enrolling nearly 55,000 students, North East ISD has two contested races on the May ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n In District 3, which runs north of\u00a0Basse Road to Wurzbach Parkway and encompasses Castle Hills, incumbent Diane Sciba Villarreal, 62,\u00a0who owns a foundation repair business<\/a>, faces challenger Mike Wulczyn, a 66-year-old insurance investigator<\/a>. <\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The race to represent District 7, which spans the region between Thousand Oaks Drive and Loop 1604, is open after incumbent Trustee Marsha\u00a0Landry did not file for re-election<\/a>. The two candidates running to replace her are realtor Cheryl\u00a0Ettinger<\/a>\u00a0and stay-at-home parent Caprice Garcia, 55.<\/a><\/p>\n District 3 incumbent Trustee Villarreal, who did not respond to requests for comment,\u00a0was elected to the North East\u00a0ISD board in May 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n In that election, she promised to reclaim parents’ rights. Through her term on the board, the San Antonio resident of over 40 years has been especially vocal in NEISD\u2019s fight with the Texas Education Agency over its student cellphone ban<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they can push us on this, they can push us on anything,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Villarreal said at a January board meeting<\/a>. \u201cIf we give even an inch on this they are going to start trying to control everything\u2026 effectively rendering us completely neutered.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Villarreal\u2019s 2022 campaign was funded by the now-dissolved Parents United for Freedom<\/a>, a San Antonio-based right-leaning political action committee.<\/p>\n Mike Wulczyn is running for a District 3 seat on the North East Independent School District’s board\u00a0of trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Mike Wulczyn <\/p>\n Wulczyn, a 34-year resident of District 3 and NEISD parent, said his commitment to the district is rooted in the belief that neighborhood schools are the heart of the community.\u00a0As the district has faced threats of a state takeover for refusing to comply with a universal cellphone ban<\/a>,\u00a0Wulczyn said he would push the district to comply with state laws to maintain local control and avert a TEA takeover.\u00a0<\/p>\n Running to be a \u201cvoice of reason\u201d on the NEISD board,\u00a0Wulczyn said his\u00a0main focus is restoring fiscal balance through line-item forensic auditing to eliminate waste and reduce what he characterizes as administrative bloat. He also has advocated for competitive compensation for educators and geofencing, a location-based digital boundary,\u00a0to keep students off their phones while at school.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike the current representation, I prioritize transparency and accessibility through a multi-tiered approach,\u201d Wulczyn said,\u00a0adding that he wants to hold quarterly town halls at local libraries, form a district advisory council of parents and business owners and conduct regular campus visits to hear directly from staff.<\/p>\n Caprice Garcia is running to represent District 7 of North East Independent School District.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saile Aranda\/Provided by Caprice Garcia <\/p>\n In District 7, Garcia said three of her kids have graduated from the district while one of her children remains enrolled in Madison High School. She has lived in NEISD District 7 for the past 21 years. A former parent-teacher association president at Steubing Ranch Elementary and Madison High School, Garcia still serves on the PTA boards at Madison and Bradley Middle School.<\/p>\n Student and staff safety is her top priority, she said. Working as a substitute teacher, she watches as parents fear dropping their students off at school in the mornings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cSchools should feel safe, and everyone should be able to walk through the halls without fear,\u201d she said. \u201cStaff shortages, budget cuts and inadequate state funding remain urgent priorities because they have a direct impact on our classrooms, educators and students\u2019 overall success.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia also hopes to expand access to specialized programming, especially dual language courses, fine arts opportunities, athletics, magnet schools and college prep resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ettinger also filed for the open seat, but\u00a0did not respond to requests for comment. On her campaign website, Ettinger said she wants NEISD\u00a0schools to be places where children can think, grow and feel safe and not worry about violence, bullying or \u201cconfusing ideological agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n She said Republican Texas House Rep. Marc\u00a0LaHood suggested she run for the school board. She noted on the site that while\u00a0she doesn\u2019t currently have personal stake in the district, she wants to run to stand up for her friends and neighbors who want a trustee to \u201cstand up and ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Originally from Michigan, she moved to San Antonio in 1981, according to a recorded\u00a0interview with Talk Law Radio.<\/a><\/p>\n Southwest ISD<\/p>\n Two seats are up for election in Southwest ISD, which educates just over 13,000 students in the largely rural southwest corner of Bexar County.\u00a0<\/p>\n The May race will feature a rematch in a four-way election for at-large seats. The top two vote getters will win three-year terms.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jose \u201cJoe\u201d Diaz and James Gonzalez are the incumbents, while challengers Pete \u201cPedro\u201d\u00a0Bernal<\/a> and Yolanda Garza-Lopez<\/a>, who were unseated\u00a0by Diaz and Gonzalez in 2023,\u00a0hope to reclaim their seats on the board.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Frito-Lay sales representative, Gonzalez, 56, took office in 2023. He did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The 1988 Southwest High School graduate has called the Southwest ISD community home for nearly 50 years, according to his trustee biography. He became the district announcer over 10\u00a0years ago\u00a0and is now known as the \u201cvoice of Southwest ISD,\u201d according to the SWISD website. Gonzalez serves on the board of the Atascosa Rural Water Supply Corporation.<\/p>\n Jose “Joe” Diaz is running to keep his seat on the Southwest Independent School District Board of Trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Joe Diaz<\/p>\n Diaz, 51, is the owner and operator of a trucking business. He first moved into the district in 2000 and has since spent years volunteering for SWISD, where he sent his three children. He first took office in 2023, just a few months after Superintendent Jeanette Ball began leading the district<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Now, Diaz said he feels obliged to continue working with other trustees and district leaders to represent this new era and direction in governance. If re-elected, he hopes to help promote district opportunities to friends, neighbors and fellow community members. He would also continue working to advocate for better district funding.<\/p>\n In his first term, Diaz said he celebrated the opening of a new district central office and teacher raises granted under boosted state funding.<\/p>\n Pedro “Pete” Bernal is running to reclaim his seat on the Southwest Independent School District’s board of trustees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Pedro “Pete” Bernal<\/p>\n Bernal, one of two challengers, said he would\u00a0use the trustee office to represent all families\u00a0\u2014 including rural families who often feel left out from important district decisions, if re-elected. Southwest ISD has a history of low voter turnout in trustee elections. In 2025, only 1.5% of district voters turned out for the election.<\/a> Now retired,\u00a0Bernal, 50, served as a school board trustee from 2020 to 2023.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhether families live in growing neighborhoods, rural communities or long-established areas, every voice matters,\u201d Bernal said. \u201cMy commitment has always been to represent all families and ensure decisions reflect the needs of the entire district.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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