El Paso ISD elected trustees sworn in to oversee district

The seven board of trustees elected by voters have now taken over the El Paso Independent School District.

“Today is a new day,” said Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Williams, “and after the success of the board of managers, we now move on to what I said originally, that after things were settled, we’d return the reigns of this district to the people of El Paso and the elected trustees.”

Four of them — Susie Byrd, Diane Dye, Charles Taylor and Bob Geske– waited two years to be sworn in. The other three — Al Velarde, Dori Fenenbock and Trent Hatch — were elected May 9.

None has served as school trustee before.

El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar administered the oath of office.

To help in the transition,Williams appointed a state monitor. Fred Liner, former Fort Hancock superintendent and director of School Services for the Region XIX Education Service Center, will work with the trustees to ensure the district’s corrective plan continues to be followed.

“I want to feel comfortable that we’re off to a good start,” Williams said in a news conference shortly before the trustees took the oath of office. “I look forward to working with them as they move forward in leading this district.”

It is unclear how long Liner will work with EPISD officials. A TEA statement said the commissioner reviews monitor appointments every 90 days to see if continued oversight is needed.

“I fully expect that this district should and ought to and run quite easily,” Williams said. “It’s not unusual for a monitor to say, you know what, they don’t need my help, they don’t need a monitor anymore.”

The Texas Education Agency found the previous board was unable to perform its duties and disbanded it in December 2012. That board presided over the district when then-superintendent Lorenzo Garcia orchestrated a cheating scheme that denied some students an education to maintain federal and state funding that earned him and his accomplices lucrative bonuses.

In the spring of 2013, Williams appointed a five-member Board of Managers. They hired a new superintendent, Juan Cabrera, and ordered a facilities study that revealed aging schools and a declining student population. They also found a multmillion dollar shortfall they had to address during the 2014 budget season.

Williams expressed gratitude to the five original managers: “Ed” Archuleta, Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, Dee Margo, Dr. Blanca Enriquez and Dr. Judy Castleberry.

“From day one, my hope was that these five appointed leaders would help restore confidence in their community’s school district,” he said in a statement. “On that front, much has been accomplished. However, there is still plenty to do that simply could not be addressed within two years, and El Pasoans now look to their elected board to continue the work,” he said.

The trustees will begin their tenure by approving a budget and setting a tax rate in their first few weeks. Their first meeting is June 2.

“It is time for this community to move forward with its elected trustees,” Williams said.