Texas education commissioner orders EPISD board elections for May 2015

Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams has directed the El Paso Independent School District board of managers to have an election of board members on May 9, 2015.

The Commissioner’s directive marks the first step in the district’s transition from the current appointed board to an elected board of trustees. A board of managers can be in place for up to two years.

“I want to commend the board of managers for your leadership,” Williams siad in a letter to board president Dee Margo, current board members and EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera. “You have worked tirelessly as a team to set goals, bring stability and respect back to the school district, inspire public trust, and set the direction for the district to prosper both academically and financially in the future.”

EPISD’s board of managers will remain in place and continue to serve as stewards of the district until all three elected positions in the May 2015 election are filled and the entire board of trustees is sworn in.

Williams on Dec. 6, 2012 announced the appointment of a five-member board of manager to oversee the management of the EPISD.

The appointed board assumed its role – replacing the board of trustees – on May 7, 2013.

Ousting a school board is rare in Texas.

The TEA’s list of ousted school boards over the years includes:

Kendleton ISD board back in the early 1990s
Wilmer-Hutchins School District in 2006
North Forest ISD in 2008
El Paso ISD in December 2012
Beaumont ISD earlier this year