El Paso ISD paints a picture of the future: Proposes six more Pre-K-8th grade schools
The El Paso Independent School District is tweaking its road map for the future. In a presentation by administration to the Board of Managers Wednesday, the district proposed consolidating 14 elementary schools, closing one, and creating six additional Pre-K-8th grade schools.
Click here to see the plan for yourself.
“A lot of times in life we have a trade off and the trade off in this case is we’ll have fewer schools, 14 to be exact,” said Superintendent Juan Cabrera. “And every one of the schools will be modern up to date, safe and secure, the best of everything.”
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
The district would keep the number of high schools at its current number of 10.
“If there is a school closure, we need to be able to commit to that child who’s school might be closed and that parent that might be impacted,” said trustee Susie Byrd, District 3, “and say that you’ll go to a school that’s in better condition than the school that you came from, and it has more programs available for your students.”
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.
“Now we have a tentative plan and we can tweak it or accept it,” said trustee Bob Geske, District 1. “Now we have the options in front of us, how much it’s going to cost in real money, and now we’re going to decide what we’re going to do.”
The elected board of trustees will take office in May after elections, unless a runoff happens.
