EPISD School Board Under Scrutiny: Did Trustees Give Garcia Too Much Power?

ABC-7 interviews a former school board president and El Paso Independent School District watchdog in the wake of former superintendent Lorenzo Garcia’s guilty plea on corruption charges.

Garcia admitted to defrauding the district from 2006 to 2011 by carrying out a scheme to fake improvements on state mandated student test scores and steering an overpriced contract to a girlfriend’s company.

Some are now calling for the resignation of trustees who served under Garcia and failed to stop his criminal activity. Trustees are responsible for evaluating, hiring and/or firing superintendents.

Board president Isela Castanon-Williams told ABC-7 trustees were lied to and miseld by Garcia, adding his scheme was so sophisticated it took more than one federal investigation to hold him accountable on charges.

Dan Wever, who served on the board from 1999-2003, said the board gave Garcia too much power and should enact more safeguarding policies in the future.