A candidate running for a seat on the Robstown Independent School Board of Trustees has been declared ineligible to run.
As 6 Investigates previously reported , Place 4 candidate Gilbert Cervantes is a five-time felon on parole until 2029.
When Cervantes submitted his application for a place on the ballot , he checked the box indicating he had not been convicted of a felony.
According to the Texas Election Code and Texas Education Code “a candidate for school board election must not have been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released.”
Robstown ISD was notified of this potential issue with Cervantes’s candidacy at the end of September.
Superintendent Marc Puig told 6 Investigates the district began to immediately investigate the issue and contacted Cervantes to provide documentation that he was eligible to run. That deadline, which was Friday, passed without any response from Cervantes.
Monday the school board received a briefing from the district’s legal counsel. Board members also asked about procedures and if the district should have done anything differently.