EPISD Superintendent On List Of Highest Paid Superintendents In Texas
The El Paso Independent School District’s Dr. Lorenzo Garcia landed a spot on the Texas Tribune’s recently released list of the 14 highest paid superintendents in the state.
“Dr. Garcia has a competitive salary, but it’s also a competitive position,” said EPISD School Board president Patricia Hughes. Hughes signed off on the latest version of Garcia’s contract.
The contract states Garcia receives an annual salary of $280,314.38. The highest paid superintendent on the list comes from Beaumont Independent School District, with a salary of $347,834.20. Both superintendents in the Houston and Dallas districts earn $300,000 according to the Tribune.
At a time when EPISD officials are considering closing schools and getting rid of teaching jobs like academic coaches, some wonder why Garcia’s contract is high enough to put it up there with bigger, more affluent districts.
“(The contract) is something we’re trying to keep competitive so we don’t lose him, so he isn’t attracted by other offers,” said Hughes. “It’s hard to replace a superintendent.”
Hughes said other school districts have built-in incentives that EPISD’s contract does not provide. However, she added the terms in Garcia’s contract have changed since he first signed on to EPISD in 2006.
Hughes said Garcia’s salary used to be 65 grand less than it is now. Since then, his salary has gotten larger and his incentives more lucrative. “He’s done a good job, he’s met the goals the board has set up for him and so he’s compensated for that,” said Hughes.
Among those incentives are a $2,000 per month in-district travel stipend. Hughes said that stipend used to be $1,200.
Garcia also gets a $1,000 monthly communications allowance, which covers costs for things like telephones, fax machines, modems and computers both in his office and at home. Hughes said the communication allowance was $300 when Garcia first came to the district.
ABC-7 wanted to ask Garcia why he has been accepting larger pay raises and incentives even though money is tight and cuts to public education have only gotten worse since he signed on to EPISD. Garcia did not make himsel available for an on-camera interview and did not issue a statement to ABC-7 through the district’s spokesperson.
Meantime, Hughes said Garcia’s contract is up for discussion twice a year. Hughes said some of the incentives in his contract may get cut as the district scrambles to save money and save jobs.
“I know people are looking at the budget and that’s something we’ll definitely consider. (The review) is coming up in June,” said Hughes.
The controversy over EPISD salaries goes deeper than Dr. Garcia’s salary, however. The school board has been criticized for proposing cuts that directly affect students and teachers instead of cutting central office staff who make six figure salaries. Garcia has maintained that EPISD has the lowest administrative cost ratio in the area. ABC-7’s I-Team has filed an open records request so we can crunch the numbers ourselves.
