Pat Campos reported for 鈥渂oot camp鈥� here recently with more than two dozen other newly elected Latino school board members from across the country. They were treated to crash courses on school finance, conflicts with superintendents, and savvy media relations.
Organized by the Washington-based National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the three-day training session at Gallaudet University was aimed at state representatives, municipal officials, and 22 school board members. They took notes, sat in on mock TV interviews, and asked veteran mentors tough questions about what to expect in their new positions.
Ms. Campos, who was elected to the school board in the 23,000-student United Independent School District in the border town of Laredo, Texas, said she was motivated to run for office because of her experiences as a case management director in the juvenile-justice system.
鈥淣inety-eight percent of the kids I see can鈥檛 read or write,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not functioning at grade level. The education system is failing these children.鈥�
Problems to Tackle
Latinos are the nation鈥檚 fastest-growing minority group, and officials here said increasing their representation on school boards is a critical step in better addressing the high dropout rates and poor academic performance among many Hispanic students.
Just last month, a federal report showed that Hispanic students continue to drop out of high school at a much higher rate than that of non-Hispanic whites. (鈥淩eport: Higher Hispanic Dropout Rate Persists,鈥� Nov. 17, 2004.)
The United States has more than 6,000 Latino elected officials at all levels of government, 1,500 of whom are school board members, according to Arturo Vargas, the executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials鈥� Educational Fund.
鈥淓ducation is so important for Latinos,鈥� Mr. Vargas said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our No. 1 issue, and for many folks it鈥檚 the first rung on the political ladder.鈥�
The association鈥檚 educational fund conducts training workshops around the country for Latino officials on a host of issues, ranging from public health to encouraging parental involvement in schools.
While the group doesn鈥檛 actively recruit Latinos to run for school boards, it does seek to raise awareness about the importance of increasing the visibility of Latinos in positions of educational leadership.
鈥榃elcome Aboard鈥�
Essau Ruiz Herrera, the school board president in the 14,400-student Alum Rock Union Elementary School District in San Jose, Calif., had a straightforward message for the new school board members assembled for an afternoon workshop on understanding the dynamics of board governance.
鈥淲elcome aboard; now buy yourself a helmet,鈥� the board veteran of 19 years said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e in charge now. You got elected,鈥� he continued. 鈥淵ou can make a difference by opening your mouth. You鈥檙e going to have some terrible times, and you will ask yourself why you got involved. You got involved because you can make a difference.鈥�
For years, Mr. Herrera said, Latinos were not represented in leadership positions in school districts, but those days have changed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our turn now,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 our fault if our kids don鈥檛 succeed. No more excuses, folks. We鈥檙e at the table now.鈥�
Panfilo Contreras, the executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association, who led the workshop with Mr. Herrera, told the group鈥檚 members they would have to work extra hard to be respected as leaders.
鈥淣obody is going to ask you to get involved,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to ask the questions, and you have to be better to be equal.鈥�
Mr. Contreras, who introduced himself as a 鈥渞ecovering school board member,鈥� became the first Latino elected to the board of the Flowing Wells Unified School District in Tucson in the 1980s. He faced overt hostility as a candidate because of his ethnicity, he said.
Today, when Latinos are elected, they too are seen as the 鈥淟atino鈥� candidate, he said. But it鈥檚 essential to persuade other board members that Latino issues are issues all students and families care about, he advised.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to be labeled as the 鈥楲atino representative,鈥� 鈥欌�� Mr. Contreras said. 鈥淪chool board members, no matter what they look like, are there to help kids.鈥�
But Art Murillo, who was elected to the board of the 55,000-student Aldine Independent School District in Aldine, Texas, in May, said that while he doesn鈥檛 want to be labeled as one of two Latino school board members on the seven-member board, he sees his background as an advantage.
鈥淚 feel like we need to be sitting at the table as Hispanics,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 understand the issues of the Hispanic community.鈥�
