El Paso ISD to interview candidates for vacant board seats

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso Independent School District on confirmed the list of candidates running for its Board of Trustee seats for Districts 6 and 7. The board could swear in the two finalists as soon as Thursday night as part of its agenda.

In June, two board members resigned after a vote led to EPISD declaring financial exigency amid budget struggles and a multi-million dollar deficit. Financial exigency is similar to bankruptcy for educational institutions.

Trustee Daniel Call (District 7) voted against the motion and Trustee Valerie Beals (District 6) was absent. They each had about a year left in their terms.

To fill their seats, the board decided to appoint new members. Other members will review the applications and vote on who will serve until the next election.

Candidates for District 7:

• Ruth Arras
• Michael Houghton
• Brian Kelley
• Xavier Miranda
• Lorraine O'Donnell
• Esther Zapata

Candidates for District 6:

• Roger Scott Brown
• Thomas C. Handy
• Matthew Reza

These candidates will go before current board members for interviews. The board is expected to make a decision Thursday and wear in the two finalists.

The board also could have called for a special election to fill the empty seats, but it EPISD would have had to cover the cost. El Paso County election officials said the tag could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on when an election would be held.