Candidates backed by local Democrats won two seats on the North East ISD school board Saturday night, once again shutting out conservatives in a district that has struggled with partisan divides.
Trustees Diane Sciba Villarreal and Marsha Landry were both elected with the help of conservative groups in 2022 — now the high-water mark for right-leaning education PACs that haven’t found traction in Bexar County since.
On Saturday, Sciba Villarreal lost her District 3 reelection race to accountant Michael Adam Wulczyn, who had the backing of the North East Bexar County Democrats, 41% to 59%.
Landry didn’t seek reelection to her District 7 seat, but longtime Democratic congressional staffer Caprice Garcia beat out realtor Cheryl “Cheri” Ann Ettinger, who was recruited for the race by conservative state Rep. Marc LaHood (R-San Antonio), 67% to 33%.
“I think that people have realized that our schools are not a place for political agenda,” Garcia said of the results Saturday night. “It’s been refreshing to hear from people from both sides of the aisle … that they’re more concerned with the health of our school districts and with our classrooms.”
In an overall low-turnout election, the raw vote totals were incredibly small, with 801 ballots cast in the District 3 race and 1,104 cast in the District 7 race.
Of all the independent school districts serving Bexar County, none have battled with the effects of national and state politics on local classrooms — particularly around issues like parent choice and book bans — more than North East ISD.
After a trustee died in 2023, the remaining six members were split evenly between those backed by local Democrats and parent-teacher groups, and those backed by conservative groups trying to replicate the success they’ve had across North Texas.
The factions locked horns frequently, but with five seats on the ballot last year, conservatives were shut out across the board.
This year campaign finance reports indicated that teachers’ unions and Democratic groups dominated the spending in these races. The North East Bexar County Democrats even hired a campaign field director to organize voters around the school board races.
A conservative Parents United for Freedom PAC that’s been involved in past NEISD races folded before this election cycle, but the Republican Party of Bexar County backed both Sciba Villarreal and Ettinger.
