EPISD audit appears to focus on contracts supported by ex-Superintendent Cabrera

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees have directed their internal auditor to investigate other district contracts after “concerns” came up during a separate internal audit of academic services contracts undertaken by the former superintendent.

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That decision came after trustees spent nearly four hours in a closed session Wednesday evening discussing legal issues related to the audit, which has yet to be finalized and made public. There was no mention of when Chief Internal Auditor Mayra Martinez must complete the new audit into other contracts.

“We’re asking for an additional audit to look into other contracts,” Trustee Al Velarde said. Velarde, the most senior board member, is serving as acting board president.

Velarde said he expects Martinez to come back with a revised audit plan, and timeline for the new audit, at the June board meeting.

Audits are typically not released to the public until an accompanying corrective action plan is completed. District staff has 10 days to complete that plan, Velarde said, and then trustees have five days to review the final audit.

“We’re doing our best to get it out as quickly as possible,” he said of the initial audit into contracts enacted under former Superintendent Juan Cabrera.