Resolution honoring retiring SBOE member Georgina C. Pérez

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS Georgina Cecilia Pérez is a passionate former eighth-grade English Language Arts Reading teacher in the Ysleta School District; and

WHEREAS as a child she often found solace and comfort in libraries and then grew up to be a fierce advocate for literacy and has now helped provide more than 500,000 books to students who live in rural or impoverished areas; and

WHEREAS immediately upon joining the board, she channeled her passion for language arts and reading to ensure the board adopted a strong set of English and Spanish language arts and reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills; and 

WHEREAS her State Board of Education district encompassed 40 West Texas counties that included more than 900 miles along the Texas-Mexico border; and

WHEREAS she was often “on the road again” to meet with constituents so that she could hear their concerns in person; and

WHEREAS she served as a vital member of the board’s Committee on Instruction and as secretary of the board since 2019; and

WHEREAS she worked tirelessly to reach across party lines to bring about the best decisions on behalf of the children of Texas; and

WHEREAS this staunch Democrat quickly formed a close and strong alliance with Donna Bahorich, a Republican chair of the State Board of Education; and

WHEREAS this pairing known as “Thelma and Louise” crisscrossed the state gathering input from constituents and together they forged bipartisan solutions on many policy issues;

WHEREAS this proud El Paso native was instrumental in the development of the state’s first ethnic studies course and helped craft a fast-track approach to developing additional ethnic studies courses; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the State Board of Education thanks Georgina Cecilia Pérez for her passion and dedication to Texas public education; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution be presented to Georgina Cecilia Pérez and that a copy be included in the permanent records of the State Board of Education.

WITNESS our signatures this eighteenth day of November, two thousand and twenty-two, in Austin, Texas.

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Keven Ellis, Chair
 

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Pam Little, Vice Chair