Let me start by saying that I am glad that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has done something about the El Paso Independent School District Board.
Also let me skip over my feelings that the El Paso Times is right in pointing out that much of what has gone wrong there should have been addressed by the TEA a long time ago.
So now we come down to my concern. Who did the TEA go to for suggestions about the members of the newly announced board of managers? Why have they appointed members from other governments? Why did they not get executives from the business community to serve? What back room did this happen in?
Have they ever heard of conflict of interest?
Let’s look at who the TEA has put on the new board of managers:
- The paid TEA designated school district monitor. She should not be both the district monitor and a member of the board of managers. Those are two different jobs. Anyone that has run a decent sized organization can see that this just will not work. She might be qualified for one position or the other, but not both at the same time.
- A City of El Paso employee that controls water in the city. My personal opinion is that he has done a great job managing our water resources. He is also known in the community as being heavy-handed and one who sees to it that he gets his way regardless of the effect on others. The fact that he has publicly stated that he saw no problem with a member of his controlling board selling expensive equipment to his government owned utility without a competitive bid shows us how he will be thinking. Don’t expect openness and transparency from this guy.
- A politician who just lost his re-election campaign as a state representative. Rumor has it that he is thinking about running for Mayor of El Paso. Would this position help him? I can think of a former state senator who is temperamentally more of a fit here, if we have to have politicians involved.
- Another City of El Paso employee that is the city’s Chief Financial Officer. She also is the Chief Administrator for the El Paso County Judge. Now she will be on the non-elected board of managers of this school district. Will the City Manager and the County Judge now have a vote at the school district? How does she vote when an issue between the school district and the city comes up? How about between the school district and the county? Talk about a conflict! She is in charge of purchasing at the City of El Paso. That alone should say enough about the quality of her work. She told us that moving city hall would cost us $33 million dollars. We are at $63.9 million and climbing. She apparently does not have time to do her city job right, much less work with the county, and now the school district.
- There is one last position to fill. Evidently the TEA is asking another politician, our state senator, for a list of recommendations. How about someone that has run a large organization? How about someone that can represent the voters instead of other governments?
The influence of the City of El Paso on this board is troubling on many levels. Think about it. I suspect that the El Paso Times will now have a whole new set of travesties to write about.
A temporary managing board for the school district makes sense to me if the members are qualified and free from conflicts of interest.
I thought our school district is supposed to be INDEPENDENT.
We deserve better!
Our children deserve better!
elpasospeak 
In a similiar type situation, I draw your attention to the article in Saturday’s El Paso Times regarding Canutillo Audit, TEA, and the firing of the Superintendent, Damon Murphy. Specifically referring to the former Principal of CHS, Jim Fry who is not outed for lying and deceiving the school board covering for the Superintendent.
He is now in Clarkston, WA working in that district office reading the tea leaves and getting out while the gettin was good. Clarkston, WA is just a short car drive from Washington State University, the former employer of Jim Fry’s father-in-law, Mike Price!
Jim Fry has driven a number of quality experienced teachers from teaching because they would not surrender to shady practices in the High School. Fry made their professional lives miserable causing them to make the easy decison to not put up with that administrative nonsense and opting for retirement.
The Canutillo Board of Trustees is another example of the “gang that can’t shoot straight” acting as if they are taking the high road in firing Murphy, when the reality is this. Jim Fry was hired as Asst Principal from the action of UTEP Alums to sweeten the deal for Mike Price to move to El Paso from Idaho and take the UTEP head football coaching job. It was an easier sell to give the son-in-law a job and have the daughter and grandkids here with ole Grandpa. Then when the Principal job became open, they once again stepped in to ensure Jim Fry would not take the family from Mike Price back to Washington and promoted him to Principal when he was not prepared to lead or provide solid guidance to the staff and students.
When the writing was on the wall of Mike Price leaving UTEP, Jim Fry called in a favor from his homeland and escaped Canutillo before all hell broke loose.
The Board also bowed to the mighty Garcia and hired his protege, Murphy and again turned their head when Murphy hired Garcia’s pregnant girlfriend to a high paying district office job covering for him since he was married with children.
Now when EPISD blows up and that board is facing a TEA firing squad of one, then the Canutillo Board all of a sudden grow a set and take action to avoid action taken against them. This is not the mark of competent people on a board. They can’t even fire someone without crocodile tears in a disgusting display. How about the kids and teachers that Murphy and Fry rolled over while they gamed the system and cooked the books to the TEA. Where is the concern for them? Instead you are only trying to save your own skin, shame on you Canutillo Board of Trustees.
As far as Murphy and Fry, they both should be sharing a jail cell with Garcia.
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re: Canutillo
I guess the truth is stranger than fiction.
The Times should have a field day with this.
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In 2010, Jim Fry, former Canutillo High School principal, had knowledge of science teachers going over Science TAKS questions with students during TAKS testing. This is not allowed by TEA. Fry not only had knowledge, but approved of this blatant disregard of TEA guidelines. Teachers are not allowed to answer any questions about a TAKS test during the week of testing. Mr. Fry not only knew what his Science teachers were doing, he praised them for their actions at a faculty meeting. Mr. Fry and Dr. Murphy did whatever they felt necessary to bring scores up. The legality of the actions they took was something they did not feel was of any concern. Techers at Cautillo High School were told by Jim Fry “if you fail a student, you better be able to explain to me all you did to ensure that this student passed. If one of your students fails, you can expect a visit from me.” Dr. Murphy told administrators summer school was too expensive. “Pass these kids the first time”
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Thanks for your comment. Let’s expose these things before they reach this stage.
This is where u do it. Thank God good people are alive and well in ELP.
Let’s speak out!! We deserve better.
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Illegal, yes. But more importantly, these actions are immoral and unconscionable. This is right up there with police brutality. These folks should be stripped of their pensions and benefits.
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Here is another example of Murphy/Fry coersion. When the push was on for getting votes in favor of a bond election to give Canutillo a windfall of taxpayer money, Fry had all of the 18 year old students at the high school assemble in the gym during class time. They assisted them with registering to vote and told them unless they voted in favor of the bond election the district would be forced to lay off their teachers. Taking advantage of the positions of authority over naive kids for the benefit of an election should be a crime. This was told to me by a reliable student and his family whom one of the parents is a teacher in the district.
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