Rodríguez Elected to Statewide Association Board

For Immediate Release: October 6, 2008
Contact: Barbara Williams, 800.580.8272, ext. 6418

(Austin) -- The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) has elected Manuel Rodríguez Jr. of Houston ISD to a three-year term on the TASB Board of Directors, representing TASB Region 4D.

Rodríguez has been a member of the Houston ISD (HISD) board of trustees since 2003 and filled an interim position on the TASB Board in April 2008. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School, he received an associate of arts degree in social sciences from Solano Community College and studied organizational behavior management and marketing at the University of Houston. He served as a part-time community-relations specialist in the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations from 1998 through December 2004. A computer specialist in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to 1977, he is also the founder and president of the MARVAA Corporation, which provides assistance in education, housing, and community involvement.

Rodríguez serves his community as the vice-president of the Mexican American School Board Members Association. He has been awarded an HISD Commendation for Meritorious Service as well as a Community Service Award from the Texas House of Representatives for his long-time dedication in working with Houston youth. He has also been named a James Deady Middle School Volunteer of the Year and one of the Outstanding Young Men of America. 

In 1997 Rodríguez served on HISD’s task force to review the state comptroller’s audit of the district, and he has been a member of Parents for Public Schools and a national board member for the organization from 2000 through 2005. He was a board member for the Gulfgate TIRZ and the Hispanic Housing Education Committee and national board member for the organization from 2000 through 2005. He also was alumni president for Austin High School and active in the Pecan Park Civic Association and St. Christopher Catholic Church.

TASB is a nonprofit organization established in 1949 to serve local Texas school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 4.6 million public school students.