This from Xavier Miranda:
Once again, the suspension of democracy is evident in the El Paso Independent School District.
The Steering Committee presentation on the proposed closure of 22 schools has been removed from the agenda at the upcoming January 21 Board of Managers meeting. The Steering Committee will now meet at 2:30PM on the same date, along with the Jacobs Engineering firm, at the EPISD offices. Here is the link: SPECIAL MEETING. To my knowledge, this will be an open meeting, but without Public Comment.
If rumors abound, it is because there is a lack of transparency. The Steering Committee, district administrators, and the Board of Managers should heed the voice and petitions of our children and parents, by postponing any further actions until a duly-elected Board of Trustees is in place.
Regardless, community members and elected officials are asked to attend this Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 5 PM to speak in opposition of the proposed closures.
Of particular interest on this week’s EPISD agenda is the district’s intent to secede from the Texas Retirement System (TRS) health care program, which would subsequently open the door for private insurance companies such as HUB International to secure lucrative contracts with our district.
Questions of conflict of interest arise when Board of Managers President Dee Margo’s son, Dee Margo III has already been awarded a contract with the district, evident by the employment of the benefit specialists in this link. The approval process included the elder Margo, of whom should have recused himself.
The bottom line is that our children will be displaced from their neighborhood schools, bussed to higher populated settings and enrolled in Kindergarten through 8th grade systems.
Our engagement is of essence — our children deserve an education that nurtures democracy, not one that views them as commodities.
Regards,
Xavier Miranda
El Paso Grassroots
elpasospeak 
Fortunately, we do not now, nor have we ever lived within the boundaries of the EPISD. That said, the actions of the interim, appointed Board are so damn typical of so many El Paso “Public” entities, aren’t they? So many things carried out that benefit friends of friends, but rarely the City as a whole, or the District as a whole, or the County as a whole. I noticed this morning, on channel 9’s web site (I no longer bother reading the EPTimes, even online, since they block everything, and I rarely watch channel 9, but I have to get my news somewhere) that the City of Socorro is assuming new debt in order to begin fixing their city streets. And, of course, it strikes me that it has been a long, long time since El Paso has bothered to fix any of our crumbling streets. I gotta wonder why that is.
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I’ve wondered if the auto repair shops have some kind of understanding that the city streets are as they are…in exchange for a share of the take?
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The whole apparatus of local government here – city; county; UMC; CH; EPISD – seems to have an allergy to transparency in their public affairs. I honestly think they would make all meetings executive session if they thought they could get a way with it so as not to expose the Axis-of-Taxes agendas they are enacting.
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Axis of Taxes is good moniker as is Axis of Asses
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“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
It’s appropriate that the current EPISD board is a board of managers, rather than trustees. There is no public trust, except among those with personal, political and financial ties to individual managers.
The lack of transparency, the egocentric decision making, and the handing of business to HUB, which acquired Dee Margo’s insurance agency and now employs his son, are indicative of the arrogance of the EPISD board of managers. Margo’s close ties to the insurance industry raises doubts about his objectivity regarding the proposed secession from the state insurance program.
Members of the board of managers and current EPISD executives are apparently immunized from scrutiny regarding possible conflicts of interest, including those related to purchasing. The EPISD website has a page where possible conflicts of interest are supposed to be acknowledged by key individuals, but the page contains the names of the past interim superintendent and past board members. The links to the individual pages and filings for these people are dead. The page has not been updated with the names and filings of the board of managers or the current superintendent or his top executives even though they have held these positions for quite some time. You will find the page here, unless they quickly remove it:
http://www.episd.org/departments/purchasing/conflict_of_interest.php
The website also has an online file of vendor records and statements regarding possible conflicts of interest. There is no statement on file for HUB or for Don Margo individually. You can view individual vendor filings here:
http://www.episd.org/departments/purchasing/ciq_docs.php
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