According to the El Paso Times the consulting firm that EPISD awarded their bond management consulting contract to has “walked away” from the bond project.
The Times article said the consulting firm “reviewed data on enrollment, facilities’ needs, capacity, programs and more. They then presented recommendations for school repairs, construction and closures to the EPISD Bond Advisory Committee over a few meetings.”
Hard to believe
Now we learn that “EPISD refused to enter into a contract for the services”.
Where does that leave us? The facilities advisory committee has evidently been working with numbers that no one can be held responsible for.
Is a new study coming? The committee has already made recommendations that were evidently based on unpaid work done by the consulting company. Do they start over now?
Why?
What happened here? Is the district’s new finance chief responsible for derailing this contract? Does she have a favorite in mind like she seemed to when she was over at the city?
Or are we seeing the able hand of our new board president at work? Could it be that things are rotten in Denmark and that the plug needed to be pulled?
Do over
Is it time to re-start the bond process from the beginning?
We deserve better
Brutus
The trust is so broken between the voters and EPISD that we’ll never be sure what is real and what is not. Appointing Carmen A-C as financial officer only deepens the distrust because it tells us that they need the right players on the team for their plans, that likely deal with the turnover of public assets to the Usual Suspects. Of course, it will be disguised as closures and property disposal but we all know who will write the business plan.
Start over with a small bond issue and show us that you can be trusted to execute on it. Then come back for more.
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Fuzzy math.
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If this is how they manage the planning process, why should we trust them with almost $600 million? This is yet another setback. The original committee meeting schedule was completely stalled and altered to allow this firm time to conjure up its numbers and now this. If the firm itself couldn’t or wouldn’t answer questions about some of the assumptions behind its data who will now?
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Maybe EPISD refused to enter into an agreement because the consulting firm wouldn’t rubber-stamp what the district wanted. Maybe the entire process was a sham. The consulting firm might have discovered too late that it was being used.
The timing of the hiring of the new CFO right before this bond push might be a coincidence, but that’s unlikely. Watch for one of the firms involved in the 2012 Quality of Life bonds to be brought in.
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Start over ! Not only no but NO NON NO. Drop the whole thing these people are incapable of fiscal responsibility
Sent from my iPhone
>
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ANOTHER INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT IN EL PASO TIMES A FEW MINUTES AGO!! CABRERA/PAZ TIES
AND NOW IT BECOMES CRYSTAL CLEAR! THE TALAS/ALAS CONNECTION!!!! WHO EXACTLY IS RUNNING EDUCATION IN EL PASO??
Stan Paz – Former EPISD superintendent now Texas Association of Latino Adminstrators and Superintendents (TALAS PAID executive director). Former lead consultant for Ray and Associates school administrator head hunting firm. Former upper level administrator in Dallas ISD about the same time as Lorenzo Garcia. Former senior executive with McGraw Hill – publisher of online textbooks adopted by Superintendent Cabrera for EPISD. Word is the he was consulted heavily by former EPISD Board of Managers who are now either currently serving EPISD upper level administrators or CREEED Board Members AND Administrator Headhunter Firm executive Michael Hinojosa (see below) . High Level Sources say Paz allegedly recommended Cabrera due to his experience as a lawyer and his close ties to KVIA News Director Cabrera. Experience in education was considered not important. Aim was to get media handle on EPISD. Lack of educational experience was written off because Cabrera was to bring in retired Dallas ISD administrator Durant to do the actual educational work for district so actual expertise in education was non-essential because Cabrera was to be a public relations piece.
Juan Cabrera – Current EPISD superintendent and president/former interim executive director (paid position?) of TALAS. Graduate of the once a month superintendent academy called SUPES which was a part of the now-defunct PROACT headhunting firm (dissolved after FBI investigation initiated by Chicago Public Schools). Received Superintendent of the Year award from the association he was interim executive director and board member of.
Danna Diaz – Director, ALAS mentoring program and was an Area Superintendent brought in by Cabrera and a headhunting firm named PROACT (see Michael Hinojosa) . Was in ALAS Superintendent Leadership Program with Juan Cabrera.
Michael Hinojosa –TALAS charter member was PROACT lead consultant at the time after resigning from Dallas ISD. He allegedly recruited Juan Cabrera. He has since been rehired as Dallas ISD superintendent. He was Executive Director at Region 19 Education Service Center during Stan Paz superintendency
Gilda Ivonne Durant – Current EPISD Deputy Superintendent for Academics . She worked for both Paz and Hinojosa. She worked for Hinojosa during his first tenure as superintendent in Dallas ISD and rose to the position of Chief Academic Officer. She retired after controversy concerning mis-spending district money and after Michael Hinojosa resigned. Her Executive Director Staff Kingdom is now worth over $12 million in salaries alone!
Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria – current EPISD Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Operations. Former EPISD Chief Financial Officer under Superintendent Stan Paz.
Jose Espinoza – Superintendent of Socorro ISD. Acquired by headhunting firm tied to TALAS. Charter member of TALAS.
Dr. Dan King – Superintendent, Pharr San Juan Alamo ISD. Juan Cabrera’s appointed mentor. Responsible for EPISD relationship with Educate Texas (lobbying firm tied to Reach For The Top Grant), IDEACharter Schools, and other models. Charter TALAS member
Dr. Robert McClendon – currently principal in YISD. Was named principal at Bassett Middle School in EPISD but never served after questions about history – current TALAS member.
Principal Rita Sotelo – currently principal in El Paso County. Former principal at Lockhart ISD. Was named principal in EPISD but never served. Left EPISD after accepting position after questions arose about history. Current TALAS member
Xavier de la Torre – current YISD superintendent – TALAS board member
Robert Duron – Former SISD superintendent – TALAS board member now works as Director of Governance Services for the Texas Association of School Boards.
Talas gold and silver level partners:
1. Prologic corporation – responsible for EPISD TEAMS student management system.
2. Renaissance learning – responsible for current active learning model being taught to all teachers in EPISD.
3. Odysseyware – responsible for current computer assisted high school course work in EPISD.
CURRENT CONSULTANT SPENDING COUNT: $7-8 MILLION AND COUNTING! BUT YET THEY SAY THEY ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF MONEY.
ALL INFO AVAILABLE THROUGH SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCHES. FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL AND MORE REVELATIONS WILL BECOME OBVIOUS. SCAM IN PROGRESS.
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Will you please provide citations for the information you’ve provided. Thanks!
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Dallas ISD Finances:
http://texasclassroomsfirst.com/news/dallas-isd-spent-millions-extras-analysis-check-register-shows
Danna Diaz/McClendon/Sotelo:
http://alasedu.drupalgardens.com/sites/g/files/g1391221/f/201502/ALAS%20Winter%202015%20Newsletter.pdf (Page 4)
Coronado/Vijil:
Click to access SLA_Participants_and_Director_2016Media_Release.pdf
PROACT Investigation:
https://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2015/05/three-school-systems-fire-proact-search-firm-over-ceo-controversy-federal-probe/
Durant Dallas Salary Increase Proposed by Hinojosa and shot down by board:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/its-salary-season-again-at-dallas-isd-7117301
Cabrera ALAS Superintendent Program:
Click to access cabrera-resume.pdf
ALAS Superintendent Leadership Preparation Description:
Click to access ALAS%20SLA%20Sponsorship%20Brochure%202016-17.pdf
ALAS Paz Profile from yesterday (Cached because it changed over night):
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y9NWBanLiiEJ:www.tasanet.org/domain/319+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Search Experience: Ray and Associates:
https://www.burquemedia.com/2015/08/25/aps-tangled-in-a-web-of-deception-and-lies-by-kathy-korte/?print=print
SUPES/PROACT Hinojosa – Chicago Investigation:
http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/10/superintendents-elsewhere-caught-up-in-supes/
Trip Request from ALAS Superintendent Program Member establishing 2011-2012 Participants:
https://www.google.com/search?q=alas+diaz+joseph+lopez&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#safe=strict&q=alas+superintendent+leadership+academy+joseph+lopez Page 3 at the top
PROACT Chicago Public Schools information: https://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2015/05/three-school-systems-fire-proact-search-firm-over-ceo-controversy-federal-probe/
Recent Area Superintendent Hire ALAS Info: http://www.alasedu.org/sites/default/files/SLA_Participants_and_Director_2016Media_Release.pdf
Danna Diaz/McClendon/Sotelo info (Page of 4 document):http://alasedu.drupalgardens.com/sites/g/files/g1391221/f/201502/ALAS%20Winter%202015%20Newsletter.pdf
TALAS Board Members: http://www.tasanet.org/domain/319
TALAS Corporate Partners: http://www.tasanet.org/domain/323
MORE TO FOLLOW
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Dallas ISD Finances:
http://texasclassroomsfirst.com/news/dallas-isd-spent-millions-extras-analysis-check-register-shows
Danna Diaz/McClendon/Sotelo:
http://alasedu.drupalgardens.com/sites/g/files/g1391221/f/201502/ALAS%20Winter%202015%20Newsletter.pdf (Page 4)
Coronado/Vijil:
Click to access SLA_Participants_and_Director_2016Media_Release.pdf
PROACT Investigation:
https://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2015/05/three-school-systems-fire-proact-search-firm-over-ceo-controversy-federal-probe/
Durant Dallas Salary Increase Proposed by Hinojosa and shot down by board:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/its-salary-season-again-at-dallas-isd-7117301
Cabrera ALAS Superintendent Program:
Click to access cabrera-resume.pdf
ALAS Superintendent Leadership Preparation Description:
Click to access ALAS%20SLA%20Sponsorship%20Brochure%202016-17.pdf
ALAS Paz Profile from yesterday (Cached because it changed over night):
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y9NWBanLiiEJ:www.tasanet.org/domain/319+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Search Experience: Ray and Associates:
https://www.burquemedia.com/2015/08/25/aps-tangled-in-a-web-of-deception-and-lies-by-kathy-korte/?print=print
SUPES/PROACT Hinojosa – Chicago Investigation:
http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/10/superintendents-elsewhere-caught-up-in-supes/
Trip Request from ALAS Superintendent Program Member establishing 2011-2012 Participants:
https://www.google.com/search?q=alas+diaz+joseph+lopez&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#safe=strict&q=alas+superintendent+leadership+academy+joseph+lopez Page 3 at the top
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A DOSE OF REALITY – LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS… OH MY says: I do not believe the public reading your material has any idea what you have told them. They are unable to comprehend what the information means. They do not understand that our public education system is under attack and much of it is coming from within. Thank you for this information, it gives us a starting point to look much closer to what is being done to our children.
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Update:
Dino Coronado – Named yesterday at Area Superintendent in EPISD. He is a member of ALAS Superintendent Program for 2016-2017.
Associate Superintendent Vijil – Recently named to position in Canutillo ISD by ALAS member Superintendent Pedro Galaviz. She is a recently appointed member of ALAS Superintendent Program for 2016-2017.
So is this an administrator preparation program or is it a Closed Shop Personnel Placement Program? Seems like members pay a fee to be considered for placement in high level positions in West Texas.
WATCH THE BOUNCING BALL. MORE COMING.
You gotta wonder if the Bond Consultant is being replaced by an ALAS/TALAS friendly company. Something is up!
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