Canutillo ISD Trustee Breaks Down Costs of New Orleans Trip

The Canutillo Independent School District has come under fire for a trip board members took earlier this year.

The district’s seven board members, two administrators and the superintendent attended the National School Board Association Conference in New Orleans.

The cost to taxpayers was nearly $30,000. ABC-7 spoke with district trustee Adrian Medina, who explained how the money was used during the four-day conference.

According to Medina, registration cost $1,000 dollars per person. Flights, on average, were $500 per person. Each official was given a per diem of $250 per day. It also cost $600 to rent three SUV’s.

Hotel expenditures for the entire trip were nearly $12,000, according to Medina, who says board members arrived in New Orleans according to the classes they planned to attend at the conference.

Tuesday night, the board voted to appoint newly re-elected trustee, Laure Searles, as the new president of the Canutillo ISD Board of Trustees.

Searles told ABC-7 she stands behind the district’s decision to offer training to its board members. “There’s nothing in life that’s trained us to do what we do: handle a budget of the magnitude that we handle, to handle 6,000 children, our most prized possessions,” said Searle, “We must be trained to do this job and I feel very confident the district is doing it’s best in keeping us well trained.”

When asked what she would tell parents who say the expenditures are excessive, Searle acknowledged she’s also a district taxpayer and would share the same concerns. “All three of my boys went to school here. I’ve been a taxpayer in the district for close to 30 years,” she said, “If you want a job well done, you need to know how to do it.”

Canutillo ISD spent nearly $640,000 this year alone for professional development, according to Medina.