Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, the first public all-girls school in Texas, received renovations to nearly 66,000 square feet of building area. The improvements included: roof repairs; Americans with Disabilities Act work; and upgrades to the fire alarm and suppression systems, technology infrastructure, and air conditioning system.
Biography of Irma Lerma Rangel
Irma Lerma Rangel, the school's namesake, was the first Mexican-American woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives and was dedicated to education in Texas. Born in Kingsville, Texas in 1931, Rangel graduated from Texas A&M University in 1951 and went to work as a teacher. Her teaching career lasted 14 years and included service to schools in South Texas, California and Venezuela by the time she decided to attend law school when she was 35. In 1969, she graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio and became one of the first female Hispanic district attorneys in Texas.
Rangel returned to her hometown and became partner in a local law firm in 1973, practicing law there until 1993. In 1976, she became the first woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives. During her 26-year tenure as a Texas Representative, Rangel was dedicated to the rights of women and minorities, and served on the Higher Education Committee, serving as its chairperson from 1995 to 2003. Her dedicated service garnered many public service awards, but – more important – created educational opportunities for Texas students.
Irma Lerma Rangel died March 18, 2003, at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer.
