Burges Early College High given magnet designation; El Paso ISD Pre-K tuition lowered

The El Paso Independent School District board of managers voted Tuesday to give the Burges Early College High school a magnet designation.

The board also approved about $93,000 in funding meant for student transportation to and from the campus.

The board also voted to lower the in-state tuition amount for Pre-K, from $406 to $350.

The board also approved the district’s modernization plan, which includes consolidating 14 elementary schools, closing one, and creating six additional Pre-K-8th grade schools.

The proposal is a road-map for the district to follow for the next five to seven years. It includes moving from 83 campuses to 69. This means reducing 57 elementary schools to 43, 15 middle schools to nine, and moving one Pre-K-8th grade to seven.

Master principal Laila Ferris will oversee the Mesita Early Childhood Center, that will be built where Vilas Elementary stands now — just about two miles from Mesita Elementary. Mesita Elementary will become a second through fifth grade school.

The district would keep the number of high schools at its current number of 10.

Other major changes would include:
– Creating a West Side medical magnet school at Franklin High
– Putting a New Tech High school within Irvin and Franklin
– Closing Bassett Middle in Central

The cost to do all of this would be $657 million. Superintendent Juan Cabrera said committing to this plan would save the district about $221 million dollars over 20 years, for a long-term net worth of about $435 million.

The board of managers can put its stamp of approval on the road map, but it will be up to the elected board of trustee to make the final decisions on the plan.

The elected board of trustees will take office in May after elections, unless a runoff happens.