EPISD Faces Federal Audit

The El Paso Independent School District is once again under the microscope. The U.S. Department of Education is set to begin auditing the district and four of its high schools on Monday, after accusations of TAKS cheating surfaced two years ago.

“Some students say that they did their best, but some other parents say that we cheated. I don’t know about that,” Oscar Guereque said.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh has repeatedly accused the district of inflating scores by deliberately keeping low-performing students from taking the TAKS test. EPISD Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia has always denied the allegations.

Officials with the Department of Education plan to focus their investigation on the school years between 2006 and 2009.

Some of the records federal officials are asking for include: the names of people who make business decisions at the high school level, lists of students who did not return to the schools the following year, graduation rates for all EPISD high schools the past 10 years, and funding sources for salaries, bonuses and pay increases for EPISD administrators, principals and assistant principals

Until the results are in from this latest investigation, some students say they will just continue to do their best.

“For me, it’s embarrassing,” said Eva Garcia. “It’s embarrassing for me but this year the scores are good.”