Jose Leal
Jose Leal is the former District III representative on the Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees in Texas. After Manuel Rodriguez Jr. died in July 2017, Leal was appointed to the position to serve until the election on November 7, 2017.[1][2]
Leal was previously a candidate for District III representative in the general election held on November 3, 2015. This race was his first time running for office. Because a majority of the vote was not won in the general, Leal faced and was eventually defeated by Manuel Rodriguez Jr. in a runoff election on December 12, 2015.[3]
Biography
Leal listed the following for his education background:
- Harris County Department of Education: Campus Leadership Academy, Certificate (2012-2013)
- Rice University: Certificate of Leadership at Susanne Glasscock School (2010)
- University of Houston Central Campus: Master in Education, Counseling (2001)
- Texas Southern University: Grad Courses Toward Principal Certification (2004)
- University of Houston Downtown: Bachelor in Science, Business System Analyst, Honors: Cum Laude (1986)
- Area of Study: Education, Counseling and School Leadership[4]
Leal's school certifications included: School Principal PK-12, School Counselor PK-12, Elementary Self-Contained 1-8, Early Childhood/Handicapped PK-6, Foreign Language (Spanish) PK-12, Bilingual/ESL PK-6, Professional Development Assessment System and Licensed Professional Counselor.[4]
Leal was affiliated with the Houston Association of Retired Teachers, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychotherapy Association, the Texas Counseling Association, the Houston Counseling Association (President 2013-2014), and the Houston LPC Association. He also worked as a teacher, counselor, dean of students, and assistant principal.
Elections
2015
Four seats on the Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015. The seats are elected by district.
The seats of District II incumbent Rhonda Skillern-Jones, District III incumbent Manuel Rodriguez Jr., District IV incumbent Paula Harris and District VIII incumbent Juliet Stipeche were up for election.[5]
Skillern-Jones, Rodriguez and Stipeche filed for re-election to their respective seats. In the District II race, Skillern-Jones faced Youlette McCullough, Darlene Smith and Larry Williams. Because a majority was not won, Skillern-Jones faced Williams in a runoff election on December 12, 2015.[6] She won the runoff election. Skillern-Jones was first elected to the board in 2011.[7] In District III, Rodriguez was set to compete against two challengers: Ramiro Fonseca and Jose Leal. Mirroring District II, a majority was not won in the District III race and a runoff also occurred on December 12, 2015, with Rodriguez up against Leal.[6] Rodriguez went on to win the runoff election. He was first elected to the board in 2003.[7]
Stipeche had the least challengers competing against her with just Diana Davila aiming to unseat her. Stipeche was first elected in 2010 to finish out an unexpired term and then re-elected in 2011.[7] However, Davila was successful in securing the District VIII seat and thus is a newcomer on the board. Since Harris did not file for re-election in District IV, four candidates filed to replace her. They were Davetta Daniels, Jolanda Jones, Ann McCoy and Larry McKinzie. Harris had served on the board since 2007.[7] Jones won the seat for District IV.
Results
Runoff election
| Houston Independent School District, District III, Runoff Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent |
55.9% | 3,459 |
| Jose Leal | 44.1% | 2,730 |
| Total Votes | 6,189 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Joint Runoff Election Canvass Report," accessed January 14, 2016 | ||
General election
| Houston Independent School District, District III, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent |
46.4% | 4,074 |
| Jose Leal | 29.9% | 2,625 |
| Ramiro Fonseca | 23.6% | 2,075 |
| Total Votes | 8,774 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 | ||
Funding
Leal reported no contributions or expenditures to the Texas Ethics Commission as of October 29, 2015.[8]
Campaign themes
2015
When asked to describe his political philosophy, Leal responded:
| “ | One of my post cards says, "... I will never forget I am a public servant..." When elected, I will be remembered for the service I provided to the people who elected me. I am running for Trustee of District III because I believe that HISD is in a state of emergency. Teachers and principals need our support so our students can learn what they need in order to be prepared for their future. Rigorous instruction from teachers can only succeed with the cooperation from every single person in the school. The atmosphere in schools should be less stressful for everyone. In secondary schools, if college classes are what is required, we ought to offer college classes; however, there are students who need and want to work after high school, we need to help them learn a trade. Others would benefit from emotional help, structure, and guidance. We need to utilize all our resources wisely to equip schools to meet all student needs. It is an emergency because we cannot wait any longer. It is urgent that all of us take action, that I take action. That is why I am running: To advocate for all children. | ” |
| —Jose Leal (2015)[10] | ||
Ballotpedia survey responses
Leal participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | I will make sure all share holders are working united to move forward our district and our community for the benefit of everyone. We must be together in this mission of improving our Houston community.[9] | ” |
| —Jose Leal, (2015), [11] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "They should be implemented." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "No." | |
| "It takes a knowledgeable person to understand results." | |
| "By having an advocate for every child in a school. All professional in schools should be assigned a few children to advocate for. It will be like having a parent inside the school who will make sure his or her child is getting the services needed." | |
| "Students with behavior problems should be sent to alternative schools to remove them from their current environments rather than being expelled." | |
| ""Find a successful school with similar student population: cultures, income, at-risk, language issues; then copy their system. Do not just bring their principal, bring their system. There are schools doing well, just have to find them and determine what makes them successful.
Remember, school staff is not the only cause for a school not to do well. Principals have superiors too who should support them and who should share the blame" | |
| "When all variables are considered: character education, discipline, citizenship" | |
| "Put underperforming teachers on a probationary period while they seek to improve." | |
| "By bean transparent while making decisions. people elect board member so their represent them. They need to know what is happening in their district." |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Jose Leal' 'Houston Independent School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD mourns loss of Board of Education Trustee Manuel Rodríguez Jr.," July 19, 2017
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD trustees appoint José Leal to fill District III seat until special election in November," accessed August 23, 2017
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD Board of Education Election Results," accessed December 2, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ballotpedia's Biographical Information Submission Form, "Jose Leal responses," October 19, 2015
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Houston Independent School District, "HISD Board of Education Election Results," accessed December 2, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Houston Independent School District, "Election Information," accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Search Campaign Finance Reports", accessed Octobe 29, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia.org
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, 2015, Jose Leal's responses, October 19, 2015
| 2015 Houston Independent School District Elections | |
| Harris County, Texas | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | District II: Incumbent, Rhonda Skillern-Jones • Youlette McCullough • Darlene Smith • Larry Williams District III: Incumbent, Manuel Rodriguez Jr. • Ramiro Fonseca • Jose Leal |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
