Joe Jesse Sanchez is a former educator and Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department Administrator who served on the Alamo Colleges board from 2017 to 2020. He is now challenging incumbent Leslie Sachanowicz.
Hear from the candidate
Please describe the relevant work experience you bring to this job, and any endorsements voters should note.
I bring over 45 years of experience as an educator. From classroom teacher to District wide administrator and adjunct professor teaching graduate level courses at a 4-year University.
I served as Trustee with the Alamo Colleges District for 3 years. During my tenure, all five colleges became fully accredited and named in the Aspen Institute’s Top 150 community Colleges. ACD was awarded the prestigious Malcom Baldrige Award for performance excellence and student success. The AlamoPROMISE Program was initiated providing free tuition and fees for thousands of students. Institutionalized Student Support Programs at all campuses. Board Liaison for Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. Reduction in the number of unnecessary credit hours. Expansion of workforce credentials and endorsements. Achieved AAA Bond Rating.
After my board service, I participated in the Alamo Foundation and the 2025 Citizen’s Bond Committee which voters approved and in campus activities celebrating their successes.
Why did you decide to seek this office and how you would approach the role?
I seek this office because it’s important to be present in whatever endeavor you choose to be involved with. I visited every campus during my initial Board service. I want to bring our work training programs to full scale by working with business and workforce organizations. This includes improving opportunities in critical areas like health, technology, and manufacturing.
I want to make sure that our thousands of Veterans have every opportunity earned. Keeping the AlamoPROMISE solvent and accessible. The recent Capital Improvement Plan requires Board and citizen oversight. Continuing the success of dual credit and early college programs which create better higher education pathways while carefully monitoring the successful transfer of students to 4-year universities. Making sure that our faculties have the appropriate and sufficient support in the form of staff development and input. Food and housing insecurity of our students needs to be continually addressed through advocacy centers.
How do you plan to solicit input and feedback from constituents?
Seeking feedback and input is important in order to remain viable. Board meetings allow citizens to be heard. Faculty and staff can also ask to be put on the agenda. The Faculty Senate is another vehicle for input. There are Citizen’s committees that the Board has established.
My experience has taught me that input and feedback can be obtained from my involvement in Neighborhood Associations, HOA’s, municipal and County meetings, as well as specialized meetings such as the Northeast Partnership which includes those municipalities located in District 9. If elected, I will continue to be part of this communication network.
Given the current focus on student outcomes and the overall growth that Alamo Colleges District is experiencing, what do you think are the biggest, or more pressing, opportunities and challenges you’ll face as a board?
Higher education today faces several important challenges that affect students, faculty, and institutions. Maintaining student engagement in a post-pandemic learning environment, student population growth, and addressing the rapid integration of AI in the classroom.
Thoughtful planning and collaboration will ensure that technology enhances learning while preserving academic integrity and quality education. Need to strengthen support systems for students and faculty. Student services should be coupled with meaningful opportunities for support, collaboration, and professional development and input for faculty. The goal here is to improve morale, reduce burnout and ultimately enhance student success. “when a faculty thrives, students succeed.”
The 2025 Bond projects will be able to keep up with student growth estimated to grow from 79,000 to 100K in fall 2029. Projects will include engineering, technology, automotive technology. Healthcare, applied technology & construction trades, and transportation.
The challenge will be to keep the tax rate stable while managing debt capacity.
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