Tanner timeline: Disappearance of Austin High students sparked questions

Former Austin High School John Tanner was arrested Wednesday along with four other administrators — including three of his assistant principals — in connection with the El Paso Independent School District cheating scandal.

The investigation into EPISD started with hunch from former state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, who in 2010 accused the district of cheating.

“What happened to 352 Austin Panthers?” Shapleigh asked.

Shapleigh told ABC-7 that in the 2007-2008 school year, Austin had a freshmen class of 639. The following year, only 348 were enrolled as sophomores, and by spring, there were only 287.

Tanner said those 352 students either dropped out of school, transferred or were held back because they couldn’t meet academic requirements, like algebra. Tanner added that it was a trend that reflected statewide.

Shapleigh disagreed, saying, “What we’re seeing is a systematic removal of these students at the high school level so that when they’re tested someone can go brag. I got these TAKS scores, and get a bonus out of it.”

Tanner denied there was cheating going on.

“Cheating? No,” he said.

Between November 2012 and February 2013, Weaver & Tidwell LLC conducted an $800,000 forensic audit to investigate cheating.

By March 2013, eight administrators had been reassigned, including Tanner. The others principals included Randall Woods of Burges; Kristine Ferret of El Paso; and Luis Loya of the Center For Career and Technology education.

“(TEA) Commissioner Williams stated that EPISD must act against employees who participated in the cheating,” interim Superintendent Vernon Butler said. “He and many of our elected officials also have criticized the District for not moving quickly enough. I want to assure you that the District is making the necessary changes to move forward.”

However, students and parents staged massive protests in support of Tanner. The board of trustees ended up reinstating seven out of the eight administrators after a marathon meeting with four hours of public comment.

In April of 2013, EPISD released the 86-page “Weaver Report,” which said the district being run by a “criminal,” referring to then-Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia.

“Garcia insulated himself and surrounded himself with willing accomplices, and his influence and reach were vast,” the report stated. “The District has since suffered from a culture that has put the desires and egos of adults over the needs of students.”

The report also stated that Tanner violated the way students who were absent for several days were able to obtain credit. He allegedly provided those students with a 10-question test they could take multiple times until the student scored a 70 or higher. Tanner denied doing that, but the report points out that minimesters increased significantly after Tanner’s arrival at Austin.

In August 2013, Tanner was placed on administrative leave “due to employee relations matter.” In December of that year, a board of managers that temporarily replaced the board of trustees, recommended the termination of Tanner and Assistant Principal Diane Thomas.

On Wednesday, FBI agents arrested Tanner, Thomas, Mark Tegmeyer and Nancy Love, as well as former EPISD associate superintendent and Canutillo ISD superintendent Damon Murphy. Thomas, Tegmeyer and Love are all former assistant principals at Austin, sources confirmed. Love is a current assistant principal at Jefferson High School, according to the school’s website. Sources tell ABC-7 she had been removed in the last few weeks.

Jail records show that Murphy, 50, and Tanner, 53, are charged with conspiracy. Love, 49, is charged with conspiracy to retaliate against a witness. Thomas, 53, is charged with witness retaliation. Tegmeyer, 51, is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.