Socorro Independent School District Board/Superintendent | 
Karen P. Blaine
Board President
District 2
Term Expires: 2010
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| Karen P. Blaine, Board President, Represents District 2
She is a graduate of Socorro High School and the United States Air Force Academy. She served with distinction on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for five years prior to returning to El Paso to pursue a career in education. She is a former SISD teacher who taught at Socorro Middle School, Sun Ridge Middle School and Americas High School. She also served as El Dorado High School’s first tech pilot. She currently works for the Education Service Center – Region 19 where she provides professional development and technical assistance for school improvement, Title I requirements, and accountability. Blaine is also serving on the board of the Central Appraisal District. Schools located in District 2: Americas HS, Clarke Middle, El Dorado HS, Horizon Heights, Antwine, Lujan Chavez, Paso Del Norte, Ituarte, Sierra Vista, Hernando Middle, Sun Ridge Middle. |
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Craig A. Patton
Board Vice-President
District 1
Term Expires: 2012
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| Craig A. Patton, Board Vice-President, Represents District 1
He first served on the board from 1996 to 1999. He was later elected to the SISD Board in 2002. In 2005, he was elected to the unexpired term of District 1 and re-elected in 2006 & 2009. Mr. Patton is an attorney in private practice in El Paso. He graduated from UT El Paso and the University of Houston Law School. He previously served as Board President during 2006-2007 and 2002-2003. He and his wife, Teresa, an Instructional Technologist at Myrtle Cooper Elementary, are the parents of two children: Eric, a 2009 graduate, and Tyler, a sophmore, at Montwood High School. Schools located in District 1: Elfida Chavez, Helen Ball, Montwood HS, Montwood Middle, O’Shea Keleher, Vista Del Sol, Slider Middle. |
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Antonio "Tony" Ayub
Board Secretary
District At-Large
Term Expires: 2011
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| Antonio "Tony" Ayub, Board Secretary, Represents District At-Large
He is a UTEP graduate, graduate of Leadership El Paso and a Licensed Paramedic. He retired from the City of El Paso as the Deputy Chief of EMS in 1999. Upon his retirement, he chose a career in education with El Paso Community College, where he is currently employed as an Associate Professor of EMSP and is assigned as Program Coordinator. He and his wife, Liz, have two children who are proud Rams. Anthony is a Freshmen and Erin is a 2008 graduate from Montwood High School. He also serves as the Band Booster President at Montwood, is the West Texas Regional Representative for American Heart Association and has served on the Core Curriculum and Institutional Effectiveness Committees at El Paso Community College. At-Large Districts include all SISD schools. |
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Guillermo "Willie" Gandara
Trustee
District 4
Term Expires: 2010 | Guillermo "Willie" Gandara, Trustee, Represents District 4
He previously served an unexpired term on the Board. He owns the Gandara Recycling firm, served in the Army and attended El Paso Community College. Gandara and his wife Grace are the parents of three children: Willie, Jr., Gary, and Gillian, is a graduate of Socorro High School and is now a representative of Gandara Recycling firm. Schools located in District 4: Ensor Middle, Desert Wind, Drugan, Loma Verde, Myrtle Cooper, Rojas. |
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Gary Gandara
Trustee
District 5
Term Expires: 2012 | Gary Gandara, Trustee, Represents District 5
Schools located in District 5: Campestre, Ernesto Serna, Escontrias, H.D. Hilley, Hueco, Keys, Mission Early College, Sanchez Middle, Socorro High, Socorro Middle. |
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Michael Anthony Najera
Trustee
District At-Large
Term Expires: 2011
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| Michael Anthony Najera, Trustee, Represents District At-Large
Mr. Najera has over 15 years healthcare finance and operations experience. He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA with a healthcare concentration, and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. A district parent and volunteer, Mr. Najera has been heavily involved in SISD schools since 2004. He is married with three daughters. His wife works at Horizon Heights Elementary School, where two of his daughters attend school. His oldest daughter is a freshman at Americas High School.
At-Large Districts include all SISD schools. |
| | [ Board Agendas & Minutes ] |
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Dr. Xavier De La Torre
Superintendent of Schools | Dr. Xavier De La Torre brings twenty-three years of experience in California to our great state of Texas. Prior to joining the Socorro family Dr. De La Torre spent four years as the Associate Superintendent, Human Resources in the Elk Grove Unified School District, a large, urban and nationally recognized school district outside of Sacramento, California. Before joining the Elk Grove Unified School District, Dr. De La Torre was hired to provide strategic and logistical leadership over all aspects of personnel and labor relations as the Associate Superintendent, Human Resources in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. In 1997, Dr. De La Torre was personally recruited by the governing board and the superintendent of the Porterville Unified School District to open the community’s third comprehensive high school. As the first principal of Granite Hills High School in Porterville, California, Dr. De La Torre helped design and open a $65 million, state-of-the-art facility, recruited and built a high-performing team of teachers and staff, and provided the strategic and daily operational leadership that propelled a record-setting 100-point increase on California’s student Academic Performance Index (API) during his five-year tenure as principal. Prior to his career in school administration, Dr. De La Torre spent ten years in the classroom as a social studies and Spanish teacher. In 1993, Dr. De La Torre was honored as Teacher of the Year in the Hamilton Unified School District and has been named Coach of the Year on three different occasions for his successes as both a varsity baseball coach and a varsity football coach. Dr. De La Torre received a B.A. from California State University, Chico; an M.A. from the University of San Francisco; and, holds a doctorate from the University of California, Davis. His dissertation entitled: “Selection from a Social Distance Theory Perspective; Superintendents’ Perceptions of Equally Qualified Candidates”, has been published in several educational journals and he was nationally recognized in 2005 by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration when he earned the Edgar L. Morphet Dissertation Award; an award recognizing the nation’s best dissertation in the field of education administration. While in California, Dr. De La Torre was an active member and served in various leadership capacities in the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA); the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA); the California Student Aid Commission; and, the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO).
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| | Superintendent's Staff | Claudia Maldonado
Executive Assistant | Lupe McVay
Executive Assistant | Yvette A. Castelo-Rommes
Executive Assistant | Toni Córdova
Director of Public Relations | | Joe San Miguel
Internal Auditor |
| | | Contact SISD | | | Phone (915) 937.0000 - 12440 Rojas Drive, El Paso, TX 79928 | | |
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Board/Superintendent
