The Hays CISD Board of Trustees voted Thursday to appoint Dr. Esmeralda Pérez-González to fill a vacancy on the Board until the next opportunity to have a special election for the seat. Dr. Pérez-González, who was one of the founding staff members of Hay CISD’s Camino Real Elementary School when it opened in 2008, enjoyed a 38-year career in education before she retired in May 2021.
Dr. Pérez-González began her career in education in 1983, working as a paraprofessional at an elementary school in Corpus Christi, Texas. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Corpus Christi State University in 1987, she became a teacher and eventually a principal at catholic schools operated by the Diocese of Corpus Christi. In 1997, she became a bilingual teacher for Corpus Christi ISD. During her career as a bilingual teacher, lead teacher, mentor teacher, and curriculum leader; she also worked in Hays CISD and Austin ISD.
Dr. Pérez-González is a well-decorated, veteran educator who is passionate about student and teacher success. In 2010, she was selected to participate in the Mickelson Exxon-Mobil Teacher Academy. For the 2008 – 2009 school year, she was named Camino Real Elementary School’s very first Teacher of the Year. She was twice named an H-E-B Excellence in Education regional winner and a statewide finalist (2003 and 2007), and named the H-E-B- Excellence in Teaching regional winner and statewide finalist in 2002. In 2001, she was a Corpus Christi ISD districtwide Teacher of the Year finalist (finishing in the top three slots). In 2000, she was a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Scholar; and, in 1998, was the runner-up winner of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Hispanic Educator of the Year.
In addition to her bachelor’s degree, Dr. Pérez-González also holds a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Corpus Christi State University and a Doctorate of Education with a specialization in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Kappa Delta Pi Educational Honor Society, the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Honor Society, the National Association of Bilingual Educators, the Texas Association of Bilingual Educators, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Association of Texas Professional Educators. She has presented at numerous conferences and has been selected to serve on a number of advisory committees, including several for the Texas Education Agency.
“I look forward to the opportunity to work with all school board members, parents, and school communities to ensure that our teachers and students have a successful rest of the year,” said Dr. Pérez-González following her appointment to the Board.
Dr. Pérez-González will fill the Single-Member-District 2 seat on the Hays CISD Board of Trustees until May 2022, the first available opportunity the Texas Election and Education Codes allow for a special election to fill the unexpired term for Single-Member-District 2. The first full term election for Single-Member-District 2 will be held in May 2023, which is the seat’s normal election-year cycle. Trustees on the Hays CISD Board serve three-year terms.
The Single-Member-District 2 seat had previously been held by Trustee Willie Tenorio, Jr., who moved out of the single-member-district earlier this fall. State law requires Board members to live in the territory they represent. Dr. Pérez-González has lived in Single-Member-District 2 for 14 years.
Tenorio was first appointed to serve on the Hays CISD Board in 2009 to fill the Single-Member-District 2 seat that was vacated when a different trustee moved out of the single-member-district. He was first elected to the Board in 2011. At Thursday’s Board meeting, Tenorio was honored for his service to the district.
