Despite motion for mistrial, testimony continues in EPISD cheating scheme trial

Testimony continued Tuesday on day 12 of the trial of five former El Paso Independent School District administrators accused of taking part in the district’s cheating scandal, despite a motion for a mistrial filed by defense attorneys on Monday.

Judge David Briones is allowing testimony to continue as he awaits a reply from U.S. Attorneys to the motion for a mistrial, which he asked to be filed on Wednesday.

On the stand Tuesday, former Austin High counselor Elizabeth Saucedo, who testified Friday about a secret recording she made for the FBI of a conversation she had with two of the defendants, former Austin Principal John Tanner and assistant principal Diane Thomas. Tanner has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the government and Thomas is charged with retaliation against a witness.

The recording revealed Tanner’s alleged attempts to get rid of a speech teacher at the school “because she was a star witness for the FBI against Dr. Tanner,” according to the recording.

At one point while being questioned on Tuesday, Saucedo indicated “(Tanner) asked our law enforcement teacher to make a sweep of his office because he thought he was being bugged.” Austin High School is home of the Sandra Day O’Conner Law Enforcement Academy.

Many members of the jury of six men and six women have begun to carry note pads and pens into the courtroom. Judge Briones decided Tuesday to give jury instructions a second time, including telling them “anything seen outside this courtroom is not evidence.” He called that “the most important” thing to remember.

Portions of a second recording of Saucedo, speaking with an FBI agent on the phone, were played under cross examination of the witness Tuesday. She could be heard talking about an Austin limited English Proficiency (LEP) student being placed in 9th grade by defendant Mark Tegmeyer, a former Austin High principal charged with conspiracy to defraud the government.

“Mr. Tegmeyer said he wanted to keep her in the 9th grade to keep (the LEP population) under 50,” Saucedo testified.

In addition to Tanner, Tegmeyer and Thomas, James Anderson, a former EPISD Associate Superintendent is accused of conspiracy to defraud the government. Austin assistant principal Nancy Love is charged with retaliating against a witness or victim and false declaration before a grand jury.

The administrators allegedly engaged in schemes designed to discourage at-risk students from registering in schools, to underrepresent at-risk student populations within the schools and fraudulently award class credits to students to falsely increase graduation rates of schools, change attendance records of students and manipulate students grade levels to avoid state accountability tests.