Board of Trustees approves audit for Socorro ISD

Audits of El Paso areas school districts are not over.

The Socorro Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to undergo an audit for possible cheating or grade manipulation.

Board President Michael Najera said this comes after other cheating schemes that have been uncovered at local school districts. He said there are no allegations against SISD.

“The question is do we have the policies, procedures and practices set in place to ensure that does not happen, and to ensure that we can prevent it from happening,” said Najera.

Some of the individuals who were connected to the El Paso Independent School District worked at Socorro in the past.

Najera said he is not concerned about those who have worked at both districts in the past. He said this is a move to maintain transparency within the district.

“We also feel that community trust is very important. To maintain that community trust, this is something that is necessary and would be irresponsible for us not to move forward with,” said Najera.

Duringthe Tuesday nightmeeting, the board announced Dr. Pam Padilla will conduct the audit.

She is a former superintendent for Canutillo Independent School District who served from 2006 to 2009.

The Board President said Dr. Padilla’s contract stated that she willbe paid $100per hour for the job. The audit is expected to take 6 to 8 weeks.

Najera said Dr. Padilla will report directly to the Board of Trustees.

When the audit is complete, it will be presented to trustees in an open-session meeting.

The audit will be available to the public.