The Ysleta Independent School District­­­­ (YISD) Board of Trustees has been named the 2022-23 ESC-Region 19 Honor Board for demonstrating excellence, dedication, and ethics in their service to public education, and will now go on to compete for statewide recognition from the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA).

Ysleta ISD Trustees were named best in the area by ESC-Region 19, which based its decision on criteria that included the board’s support for educational performance; educational improvement projects and school transformation initiatives; commitment to a code of ethics; and placement of the welfare of children served by the school system above other motives.

The elected members of the Ysleta ISD school board are President Cruz Ochoa; Vice President Carlos Bustillos; Secretary Kathryn Lucero; and Trustees Mike Dwyer, Shane Haggerty, Chris Hernandez, and Connie Woodruff.

“There’s no question the past four years have been the most difficult for school boards/districts in El Paso,” Ochoa said, referencing the global Covid-19 pandemic and a mass shooting at a nearby Walmart in 2019.

 “Somewhere along that journey, our Board of Trustees truly became a family where trust and transparency just came naturally,” Ochoa added. “Our board set aside its individual interests and aspirations and considered what would be best for the district, and it chose the importance of continuity of leadership as the element that was most needed during those uncertain times.”

The Ysleta ISD school board will now vie against other regional winners for the Texas Honor Board award, given annually by TASA for dedicated, ethical service that positively impacts the schoolchildren of Texas.

 “Ysleta ISD is unique,” Bustillos said. “Without our mutual respect, strong communication skills and systems, trust, and an overt agenda for all students in The District, the board could easily devolve.

“Instead, our respect, genuine interest in each other’s life and work, and commitment to the students, staff, and leadership in our district, create a positive work environment where collaboration and cooperation are vital,” Bustillos added.

For more information on regional Honor Board winners across the state, please visit https://tasanet.org/tasa-announces-regional-nominees-for-2023-outstanding-school-board/.