Backpacks given to over 300 El Paso school kids amid protests outside

El Paso families lined up for a free backpack giveaway at the Housing Authority of El Paso on Saturday Morning.

This is HACEP’s the 10th annual backpack giveaway sponsored, this year, by the Greater El Paso Apartment Association.

CEO of Housing Authority Sadish Bhaskar told ABC-7, “We expect to give out approximately 300 to 400 backpacks to the kids who participate in the HCP program.”

Kids also got about $30 worth of school supplies inside the backpacks including colored pencils, crayons and paper.

Outside the buildings, a local group held a protest to stop the closure of Burleson Elementary school.

A member of the protest Yulianna Salas said, “We are around a district where there are pools, libraries parks, and they’re closing down that school that is actually supposed to be open because there is no contamination like the ones they’re trying to close, where they are trying to put the students.”

Last year, El Paso’s largest school district announced the proposal to close several schools, citing declining attendance and revenue.

In response to these protests on prior occasion, the district replied in a statement, writing: “Independent reports continue to indicate that our schools in the Chamizal area are safe learning environments, despite an unfounded belief by a small segment of residents there.”​​​​​​