EPISD advances to Phase II in Destination District Redesign, considers school closures

EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- El Paso Independent School District is moving forward with Phase II of its Destination District Redesign (DDR). Currently, EPISD is focusing on elementary schools, with potential school closures and reallocations of resources. 

EPISD says they currently have 75 elementary campuses, however they are not at their maximum use. The target is to achieve 80% utilization, which the district says they are far from.

A facility study also identified the costs of upgrading facilities to meet 21st-century learning standards, including the possibility of renovations or complete rebuilds. 

ABC-7 spoke to Marivel Macias, chief organizational transformation equity officer for EPISD, who says they are examining factors such as enrollment, transfer rates, and the condition of school facilities.

"In elementary, we have the 22 to 1 class ratio, and that's something that is maximized," says Macias. “Currently we have campuses or classrooms that are underutilized. So we have many vacant seats, any classroom or any school that we would consolidate, we would make sure that it's at the optimal capacity.”

Macias says by optimizing campus utilization, they can focus on improving their “sister schools,” these are schools that have higher capacity and better facilities. “As we consolidate, that means that we have more funding within our system to allocate resources to those facilities that need to be upgraded,” Macias explains.

She also mentions that surplus property from any schools that may close could be repurposed in collaboration with the City of El Paso, such as the recent sale of Morehead Middle School which is now an animal shelter and emergency shelter to house migrants. 

Macias says they want parents to be involved in the decision making process, “It's about bringing our students together, make sure they're one community, and that they're growing up together with the programing that they need and with our amazing teachers to continue to move them forward. It's very important that we hear our community so that we're able to share with them the data we've looked at.”

The next meeting is tonight at Jefferson High School at 5:30. The focus audience for this meeting is Tinajero PK8, Zavala ES, Cooley ES.

Schedule for the rest of the community meetings:

• Tuesday, Sept 3
  Coronado High School (100 Champions Pl., 79912)
  Focus Audience: Coronado, Murphree PK8, Haskins PK8, Zach White ES, Green ES, Putnam ES, Rivera ES, Western Hills ES

• Wednesday, Sept 4 
  Andress High School (5400 Sun Valley Dr., 79924)
  Focus Audience: Andress, Charles MS, Richardson MS, Bobby Joe HIll PK8, Newman ES, Torres ES, Barron ES, Tom Lea ES, Nixon ES 

• Thursday, Sept 5 
  Austin High School (3500 Memphis Ave., 79930)
  Focus Audience: Austin, Navarette MS, Coldwell ES, Crockett ES, Moreno ES, Clendenin ES, Rusk ES, Travis ES, CCTA 

• Monday, Sept 9 
  Bowie High School (801 S San Marcial St., 79905)
  Focus Audience: Bowie, Guillen MS, AOY ES, Hart ES, Douglas ES 

• Monday, Sept 16 
  Franklin High School (900 Resler Dr., 79912)
  Focus Audience: Franklin, Hornedo MS, Brown MS, Lundy ES, Polk ES, Tippin ES, Kolhberg ES, Guerrero ES, Herrera ES