By: Parra H.R. No. 260
73R4715 JLZ-D
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, The end of the 1992-1993 school year will also mark
1-2 the end of an era for the San Elizario Independent School District
1-3 when Lorenzo Loya retires as a member of the district's board of
1-4 trustees after a long and distinguished tenure spanning half a
1-5 century of service to the schoolchildren of the community; and
1-6 WHEREAS, Asked to serve on the board at the age of 19 in
1-7 1943, Mr. Loya remained on the board for the next 50 years, running
1-8 unopposed in each school board election since then to become the
1-9 longest serving school board member in Texas history, according to
1-10 records of the Texas Association of School Boards; and
1-11 WHEREAS, During his exceptional tenure on the board, Mr. Loya
1-12 has witnessed and been part of many dramatic changes in the El Paso
1-13 County community and in the school district serving its educational
1-14 needs; and
1-15 WHEREAS, When he began serving on the board, San Elizario was
1-16 a small rural community, and the small school district served 40 to
1-17 50 students, many of whom would not complete their high school
1-18 education because of the agricultural nature of their families'
1-19 pursuits; and
1-20 WHEREAS, Fifty years later, the district now boasts of an
1-21 enrollment of nearly 2,500 students and a greatly improved
1-22 graduation rate, thanks in large measure to the dedicated efforts
1-23 of Mr. Loya, who has continually stressed the importance of
1-24 attaining a first rate education as a means of improving not only
2-1 the quality of life for each individual but for the community at
2-2 large as well; and
2-3 WHEREAS, A product of the times and the economic
2-4 circumstances that shaped the lives of everyone in the community
2-5 during the Depression, Mr. Loya understood very well the value of a
2-6 good education, having ended his own formal education at the eighth
2-7 grade when he left school to help his family do farm work; and
2-8 WHEREAS, Although he later found employment with Phelps
2-9 Dodge, where he worked steadily for 37 years until he retired in
2-10 1977, his 50-year tenure on the San Elizario school board provided
2-11 him an excellent opportunity to encourage succeeding generations of
2-12 the community's youth to finish high school and to continue their
2-13 postsecondary education whenever possible so that they might enjoy
2-14 career and professional opportunities he never had; and
2-15 WHEREAS, His commitment to these goals and aspirations is
2-16 manifest in all of his endeavors, both great and small, from
2-17 providing space in his home for a schoolteacher wanting to tutor
2-18 students after school to convincing friends and neighbors of the
2-19 need to support a $3 million bond issue and hefty tax increase that
2-20 enabled the district to build a new primary school a few years ago;
2-21 and
2-22 WHEREAS, Throughout the years he also has stressed the
2-23 responsibility each individual bears in striving for success,
2-24 recognizing that each success story provides yet another role model
2-25 for the children in this predominantly Hispanic community to admire
2-26 and emulate; and
2-27 WHEREAS, Given his record of service to the community over
3-1 the years, it is indeed fitting that the community will pay the
3-2 most appropriate tribute it can give to one of its most highly
3-3 esteemed citizens when it renames San Elizario Primary School in
3-4 his honor in May 1993 as part of his retirement celebration; and
3-5 WHEREAS, Throughout his outstanding association with the
3-6 community, Mr. Loya has adhered to his principle of putting the
3-7 community first, and the many generations of San Elizario
3-8 schoolchildren who have passed through the district's schools have
3-9 benefited as a result; his vision, leadership, and commendable
3-10 dedication will be greatly missed; now, therefore, be it
3-11 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
3-12 Legislature hereby honor Lorenzo Loya for his half century of
3-13 outstanding service as a member of the board of trustees of the San
3-14 Elizario Independent School District and extend best wishes on the
3-15 occasion of his retirement from the school board; and, be it
3-16 further
3-17 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-18 prepared for Mr. Loya as an expression of high esteem by the Texas
3-19 House of Representatives.