The decision to keep Lamar Elementary school open adds to EPISD’s deficit
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- According to school officials El Paso ISD was facing a $30 million deficit but now after boards of trustees voted to keep Lamar Elementary that number will increase.
Lamar Elementary school has been an A-rated school for the last few years. "We can't afford to lose more A-rated campuses, given that there's only five A-rated elementary schools in the EPISD, and there's 26, D or F schools in the EPISD," said Dr. Jack Loveridge EPISD board Vice-president.
Loveridge along with EPISD President Leah Hanany, Secretary Alex Cuellar, trustee Mindy Sutton and trustee Robert Osterland all voted in flavor of keeping the Lamar Elementary open.
"I think the conversation is misleading whenever we're starting or we're not starting with an academically excellent school," said Hanany. "We have $160 million budget. If we're not finding out how to accommodate, elementary school like Lamar Elementary, that is one of our highest performing, high poverty, high achieving schools, than I think we're doing a grave disservice to the community."
Trustees Valerie Beals and Daniel Call voted to close Lamar. Call said it would cost tax payers more than $3 million dollars in addition to the $30 million already predicted. According to EPISD dashboard it would cost over $13 million to fix the campus.
ABC-7 asked Hanany and Loveridge how do they plan to make up for that cost? Hanany responded "There are so many austerity measures that the district did not even attempt to tackle. And again, if you're starting with mass school closures without having, for example, budget freezes or hiring freezes or travel freezes, then I think, you're really missing the mark because we have got to figure out what we have got to figure out what we have to cut. That is not, the schools in our communities that are performing well."
EPISD provide to following statement.
“On Tuesday, May 20, the El Paso ISD Board of Trustees voted to reverse the earlier decision to close Lamar Elementary. Families who have already registered their children at another campus for the 2025-26 school year may choose to continue with their current enrollment or opt to enroll at Lamar instead.
District leadership has already begun meeting with Lamar staff to offer guidance and support during this transition. In addition, we are planning community registration sessions to assist families with the enrollment process and address any questions they may have.
El Paso ISD remains dedicated to supporting our students, staff, and families, and we are committed to ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality educational environment.”
