El Paso ISD to close 8 elementary schools due to enrollment decline

Eight El Paso Independent School District elementary schools will close starting next school year after the Board of Trustees voted in favor of closing Tuesday.

Carlos Rivera, Lamar, Newman, Putnam, Rusk and Zavala elementary schools will close their doors next school year; Stanton and Travis elementary schools will close in the 2026-27 school year under the approved plan.

The 4-3 vote sparked outrage from the crowd, largely made up of parents, teachers and others who spoke out against the closures. After the vote, they started shouting, “Shame on you, shame on you!”

Trustees Israel Irrobali, Daniel Call, Isabel Hernandez and Valerie Ganelon Beals voted in favor of the closure, while Leah Hanany, Jack Loveridge and Alex Cuellar voted against.

The latest proposal calls for closing Carlos Rivera, Lamar, Newman, Putnam, Rusk and Zavala elementary schools next school year; and Stanton and Travis elementary schools will close in the 2026-27 school year.

“This plan provides recommendations to avoid measures that would negatively impact students, such as increasing class sizes, laying off teachers, or reducing educational programs that are vital to a well-rounded education,” Superintendent Diana Sayavedra said at the meeting before the vote. “This job is not easy, but I am confident that the decisions made today will create a path forward for our school district.”

Sayavedra said abandoning school closures could lead to layoffs to address the budget deficit.

“If we cannot make our reductions at this point, the next big problem item and the biggest cost for us as a school district will be employees. So, we will have to seriously consider whether we need to present a proposal to the board to reduce the force,” Sayavedra said.

Throughout the meeting, parents, students, teachers and community organizers spoke out against the plan and implored EPISD to delay school closures or find an alternative.

“I am not opposed to closing schools, I understand it is a necessary and difficult decision,” EPISD employee Ann Gallardo said. “Whatever the reason, I think rapid action to close so many schools at once in less than a month is reckless and will cause further harm to society.”

During the meeting, EPISD fourth-grader Agustin Yañez also took to the microphone.

“I don’t like that you want to close my friends’ schools,” Yañez said. “My friend Valeria won’t be able to walk to school. Her grandmother takes her away and she can’t spend that much time with her grandmother anymore. Why don’t you fix my friend’s school?”

Some speakers supported the closures and urged the school board to approve the plan to address budget concerns.

“The district cannot support underutilized schools or the cost of remediating those schools. This puts significant pressure on the district’s budget, as operational costs such as staffing, utilities, and maintenance remain high, although low. Tonight’s vote shows that this board of trustees is committed to good stewardship of our tax revenues.” it proves whether he did or not,” said parent Kendall Jessup.

The closures are part of a project EPISD calls Target District Redesign, which aims to address declining enrollment rates, falling birth rates and projected budget shortfalls. The plan also will make facility and program improvements at campuses that remain open.

EPISD initially 10 campuses recommended to be closed next school year, including Hillside and Park elementary schools. But on Monday, the district announced: two schools were removed From the list of proposed closures, which will now be divided into two phases.

The district plans to keep Hillside Elementary open until it completes the reconstruction of Bliss Elementary and creates more space at Hartley Elementary.

Students at affected schools will be able to transfer to a proposed “sister school” or any other school in the area.

EPISD plans to create up to 40 new bus routes, create new pick-up and drop-off points, and change bus transportation policy to ensure students can reach their new campuses.

Currently, district buses only transport students who live two miles or more from their designated campus.

Under the new plan, EPISD will divide the region into four transportation zones: West, Northeast, East Central and South Central. Students will be able to go to any school in their area by bus.

Approximately 270 employees working at the affected campuses will be reassigned to a new school. So far, EPISD has found approximately 240 vacancies for these employees; 110 of these were for teachers. When vacancies occur, positions will be assigned to the remaining employees.

Voting coming weeks later Reaction from parents and community organizationsHe called on EPISD to delay school closures until it completes its ongoing equity audit and comes up with an alternative plan.

In the days before the decision, elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, called on the district to delay the vote.

“The district announced the list of schools scheduled to close on October 17, and my office received over 1,200 emails and messages from constituents who deserved more time for their concerns to be addressed,” Escobar said in a Facebook post published Monday evening.

“While I understand that EPISD must make difficult decisions regarding its budget, it is clear that one month is not enough time for the board to listen to the community.”

This afternoon, EPISD Superintendent Dr. I talked to Sayavedra, and he’s from El Paso State Independent School…

Sender Congresswoman Veronica Escobar Open Monday, November 18, 2024

Some local officials, including Cuellar, called for Irrobali to recuse himself from voting, citing his position as executive director of the El Paso Contractors Association as a conflict of interest. This would likely tie the vote 3-3 and halt the school closure process.

Irrobali refused to remove himself, citing legal opinions from multiple attorneys who said it was not a conflict of interest because EPAC does not receive money directly from the district.

The plan also created conflict between two of El Paso’s largest teachers unions over opposing views on the closures.

El Paso Teachers Association President Normal De la Rosa had criticized EPISD’s proposal since Sayavedra announced plans to close schools in May.

The organization has joined the Save Our Schools Coalition, which aims to delay school closures until an equity audit is completed.

Ross Moore, president of the El Paso Federation of Teachers, said the closures were necessary to ensure teachers could keep their jobs because of the budget shortfall.

EPISD approved a $542 million budget in June, with a deficit of $18.5 million, to operate its 75 schools, including 48 elementary schools.

Without any changes, if the state does not increase school funding, the deficit will rise to $32 million in the 2025-26 school year, $39 million the next year and $45 million in the 2027-28 school year, EPISD officials said.

With the closures, EPISD expects a deficit of $16.7 million next year, $17.7 million the year after, and $23.7 million in the 2027-28 school year.

The district expects to lose 8,000 students from all grade levels over the next 10 years.

EPISD’s enrollment has already decreased by 20% since the 2013-14 school year. The district estimates it has lost 13,000 students since 2015 and missed out on nearly $90 million in potential revenue in those years.

This article first appeared in the El Paso Times: EPISD board votes 4-3 to close 8 elementary schools