South San trustees fill one of two board vacancies

South San Antonio Independent School District trustees appointed a replacement for one vacant board seat Thursday night and extended the application period for a second seat after no eligible person applied for the position.

At a special meeting, the board unanimously appointed 24-year-old Edward Mungia, a staffer for San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldaña, to serve as trustee for District 3. Mungia was selected from three candidates vying for the seat, previously held by Linda Longoria, who resigned in October without providing a reason.

The second vacancy, the District 6 slot, was vacated in December by Helen Madla-Prather, who cited plans to move outside her district. A person applied for that seat but had to withdraw from consideration due to residency issues, district spokeswoman Jocelyn Durand said. Trustees voted Thursday to extend the application period for the position for another week.

Appointing a replacement for one of the departed trustees marked the first major decision the South San board has made since the exit last week of the district’s state-appointed conservator. Both appointed replacements will face re-election in November.

Mungia was appointed after two rounds of public questioning by trustees, beating out former South San trustee Denice Jimenez and business owner Alex Dovalina.

Mungia has worked for Saldaña since early 2016, first as an intern and then as the constituent services and special projects manager. He graduated from Loyola University New Orleans in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.