episd last meeting

but first… new at ten… el paso isd has been in the hands of an appointed board of managers — but tonight was their last meeting. abc-7’s ashlie rodriguez was there. ashlie, what was the tone of the meeting? the board was very sentimental. each manager gave a small speech to the audience– talking about their achievements over the last two years — while also offering advice to the incoming trustees. and some in the audience shared in the goodwill. nnn identifies herself as a retired teacher and taxpayer. when i started it was different but in 2012, the superintendent of the largest district in el paso could be seen conducting his infamous perp walk, just thirty days after the trustee gave him a bonus and extended his contract. that’s when the state stepped in, removed the trustees and put in the managers, who’ve been at the helm of episd ever since. since the winter of 2012, together dee margo, carmen arrieta-candelaria, ed archuleta, blanca enriquez and judy castleberry have made their impact. the first was discovering the district had much less students than it budgeted for, lending it to a $20 million shortfall. from there, the board hired firms to comb through the data, hire a superintendent and conduct a district- wide report that found episd need to cut the number of campuses. the board’s major initiatives include expanding the dual language program, moving to digital textbooks, and opening enrollment to the entire county. but now, the torch will be passed to the elected trustees, four who’ve been waiting for their turn, three still undetermined. margo’s advice? the election is may 9th– but in the case there’s a runoff– the elected trustees won’t take over until june. ‘ in that case the managers will remain in charge until the trustees are sworn in. we now know what caused an apartment complex to catch fire in west el