One year since TEA announced plans to take over EPISD

It’s been a year since the Texas Education Agency announced its plan to overhaul the EPISD board of trustees — eventually replacing them with a board of managers.

ABC-7 looked back Friday at what the new regime has accomplished thus far.

Former Jefferson High School principal Steven Lane noted that the old administration could learn a lot from the kindergarteners. The wee ones learn to play fair, clean up their own messes, not take things that aren’t theirs, and say they’re sorry.

“And you don’t say, ‘I made a mistake,'” Lane said. “A mistake is when you accidentally knock your chocolate milk off. ‘I did something wrong. I should not have done it. I was raised better. I am sorry for the people that I’ve hurt, the students I’ve hurt, and I’m going to take these steps to rectify what has happened.'”

Here’s what the new board is doing to clean up somebody else’s mess:

A new budget came in June. Then the hiring of a new superintendent — Juan Cabrera is still in the process of filling holes left vacant when co-conspirators resigned.

The board has also formed three committees — one tackling curriculum, another overseeing facilities, and a third handling the finances.

But the TEA said that over and above the administrative changes, the board is restoring public trust in the district and stability for students.

“I think there’s a much calmer learning environment in the district now,” said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe. “People are going about teaching and learning. There are far fewer headlines about scandals or jail sentences. I think they have accomplished part of their mission, just to bring order back to the district.”

One board member said ex-superintendent Lorenzo Garcia rarely visited the schools, so regular town-hall meetings with the board and superintendent at the schools have gone a long way. The district remains under TEA accreditation probation and the subject of a FBI probe.