David Torres: Edinburg

David Torres began his first term on the South Texas Independent School District (STISD) board of directors with his appointment in November 2020.

Since 1997, Torres has owned and operated David’s Bail Bonds and A-Lightning Bail Bonds. He has been a partner at Odyssey Primary Home Care and At Home Health Care since 2007, a managing partner at JDRED Investments since 2012, and a partner at DC Fabrication and Oilfield Services since 2015.

No stranger to education or community service, Torres has a history of contributions in both areas within his hometown of Edinburg.

He served as vice president of the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District school board in 2009, president in 2011, and was a member of the board that received Region One School Board of the Year and The Outstanding Board of the Year in 2013 for the 53rd Annual Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA)/Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Convention.

Torres is also a former city councilman for the City of Edinburg, and served as Mayor Pro-Tem in 2018 and 2019, the year in which the City of Edinburg was selected as an All-America City Award Finalist. In addition, he served as an Edinburg Economic Development Corporation board member in 2018-2019 and a representative member for the City of Edinburg for the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization in 2017-2019. The organization was awarded the Citizens of the Year award in 2019 for its leadership as a group that provided sensible, bold, and regional thinking that merged three MPOs into one regional body for the greater good of the region. He has also served as a member and past president of the Edinburg Noon Lions Club since 2005 and is a member of the Hidalgo County Bail Bond Association. 

Torres has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from The University of Texas Pan American, and he graduated from The University of Texas Brownsville Police Academy in 1996.

He and his wife, Ellie, have three children and four grandchildren. In his free time, Torres enjoys fishing, hunting and spending time with his grandchildren.

“Serving our South Texas students and helping them achieve success is one of the greatest honors I have been privileged to be a part of,” Torres shares. “I understand the level of the world-class education that South Texas ISD offers to the young scholars in our communities, and I believe in nourishing and supporting all their efforts and providing the support they need to succeed.”

Torres is proud of STISD’s status as one of the best school districts in the state and the opportunities it offers to Rio Grande Valley students, which then segue into bigger and greater opportunities for students in their future.

As a board member, he wants to see the district “Step up to all our new challenges and do everything possible to ensure student success,” and he hopes for “continued success for the district and continued growth with the changing times.”