Tour of newly renovated EPISD executive offices

For the first time since work has been completed, ABC-7 got an inside look at the newly renovated executive offices at El Paso Independent School District.

New paint, new carpet, a new kitchenette, and new bathroom fixtures are among the improvements.

During public comment at a recent district board meeting, some teachers criticized Superintendent Juan Cabrera for upgrading the offices.

EPISD is facing a $17 million budget deficit next fiscal year. Administrators say a lot of the work was done before Cabrera began his tenure with the district and money for the project came from the last two fiscal years’ budgets.

“I think the work needed to be done … because it’s my understanding that some of the stuff in there was totally unusable. It was basically junk, and it’s long overdue that renovations should have been done here,” district Chief of Staff Tom Miller said.

ABC-7 got a list with all the work performed, including labor and material costs. The total project cost more than $25,000. Fourteen thousand of that was spent to update Superintendent Cabrera’s office. About $3,400 was spent before cabrera started working for EPISD in September 2013.

The preliminary report of costs does not include furniture or equipment for the offices. Cabrera was not available for comment.