Big changes coming for management of EPISD
El Paso’s delegation of state lawmakers has asked Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams to keep a leash on the El Paso Independent School District’s board of managers during its final three months overseeing the district.
Williams appointed the board of managers nearly two years ago when he ousted elected trustees in the wake of a cheating scandal that rocked El Paso’s largest school district.
In the letter sent to Williams Thursday, El Paso’s state delegation said it would be better if elected trustees are the ones who make decisions regarding the closure or consolidation of schools. The letter also states that the community, the elected trustees and EPISD’s administration need more time before making these crucial decisions.
These latest developments come at the start of the final three months of EPISD under state control. The Texas Education Agency took over two years ago after that massive cheating scandal that landed then-superintendent Dr. Lorenzo Garcia in prison.
Board of managers president Dee Margo said that as soon as the May 9 school district election is finalized, the new trustees will take over full control of the district and its future.
It might take a few weeks to verify and finalize the votes, but Margo expects for the managers to finish their tour of duty by the end of May. In the meantime, he expects to lay the groundwork for a major reorganization and revamp of the districts facilities based on a third party study showing decaying buildings and declining enrollment.
Trustee-in-waiting Susie Byrd said that the elected board should be making the major decisions including closures and bond amounts.
“I think they should put as much in place as they can,” Byrd said. “And then hand it over to us without having rushed a process.”
Margo says contrary to that letter from legislators, the managers never intended to make those sweeping decisions.
“There will be no closings of any type done by the board of managers,” Margo said. “That’s not our job, and it’s almost a physical impossibility anyway.”
Along with the four board members waiting to enter office since the 2013 board election, there are three candidates for the three vacant board of trustee seats that have filed for the May 9 election. One more candidate has announced without filing. The deadline for candidate applications is Feb. 27.
