ABC-7 I-Team: Indicted EPISD Superintendent Will Get Hefty Compensation

Lorenzo Garcia, the indicted superintendent of the El Paso Independent School District, is getting more than $190,000 in compensation from taxpayers once his resignation takes effect Nov. 30.

“He’s walking away only with what is in his contract. There is no parachute. There is no severance pay,” said EPISD Board President Isela Castanon-Williams during an interview Nov. 9.

Garcia submitted his letter of resignation earlier this month. He said his resignation should not be taken as an admission of guilt for the federal fraud charges he is facing.

Garcia, 56, was arrested by FBI agents at the district’s offices in August. He bonded out of jail and was placed on administrative leave by the Board of Trustees shortly after. He is currently awaiting trial.

Prosecutors allege Garcia defrauded EPISD by pushing a no-bid contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to a female friend’s company just months after he started working for the district in February 2006.

Investigators said Garcia had a financial interest in the company, did not report that fact and pushed a no-bid contract. Garcia maintains his innocence and wrote in his letter of resignation that he is taking time to work on his defense.

Castanon-Williams said Garcia will be getting a $12,500 bonus that he had already earned. She said the terms of his contract also call for him to receive up to 150 days worth of accrued but unused leave days, which amount to $177,414.

ABC-7’s I-Team looked through Garcia’s contract and contacted state agencies to find out how Garcia had so many leave days at his disposal.

District officials declined an on-camera interview but explained Garcia had several sets of unused leave days he could draw from during his leave from EPISD.

Garcia had nearly 78 state-mandated personal days at his disposal which rolled over from his time at the Dallas Independent School District. He used all of those days to cover for the period of time he has been on leave at EPISD.

The remaining days include 30 additional state-mandated personal days he earned at EPISD, 38 sick days as per EPISD policy, and 102 vacation days as negotiated in his contract.

District officials said Garcia never took a sick day and only took 13 days of vacation during his nearly five years heading the district.

Castanon-Williams signed off on the latest version of Garcia’s contract, which was approved a month before his indictment. She said the next superintendent’s contract may not be so generous.

“We are a school district strapped for cash,” she said. “Given the economic condition of our community and our school district we will be making a decision in looking for someone that can do the job that we want done and then we’ll look at price.”