This came in from Dan Wever:
I do not think the real significance of the $562,500 being wasted on “Branding of the EPISD” got across in what I sent and you posted. Here is the board material that explains it a little better.
EPISD–branding detail
elpasospeak
City of El Paso debt=$2,670,400,000, county and school district debt=$1,600,000,000. Total $4.27 billion. Your share $19,350
elpasospeak 
Do these people have any idea how much happier we would be to see this money spent on getting kids an education. This seems to be support of the support staff.Brutus, hate to disagree with you, but people get the government they deserve,so we don’t deserve better. However there are a bunch of really good kids who deserve a hell of a lot better.
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No they don’t understand. This explains why my son’s summer camp was cancelled and now his GT program. They need money to fund Juan Cabrera’s image and will take it wherever they see fit. All the money in the world is not going to fix EPISDs reputation. Actions speak louder than words.
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but angry parent … maybe your student will get a free iPad and internet access. He may learn a lot using these tools. LOL
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That item was removed from the board agenda.
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I guess you were at the 9 AM board meeting if you know this information about it being removed. Last years $250,000 was not removed and the public did not get to see the video of the board meeting where this was removed. I had written to the trustees and said the public was going to watch and see how Trustee DYE voted on this issue. She had said at the 2016 meeting that the EPISD only had to get 35 more students from other districts to make up for the $250,000 that was spent. She, of course, must not know that no local property tax money comes with the student which is about 30% of what it takes to educate a student.
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I usually refrain from any comments about the goings on of EPISD, since I live in another district. But, wow! This is stupid, even for them. Why in the world should a public school district need to advertise what it does?! Do they really think that people all over the area are desperate to get their kids into EPISD schools?! Why would that be?! I agree with the pseudonymous “pn” that this money would be better spent in the classroom.
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“Branding”?? They have been “Branded”. EPISD is a Society of Corruption, a rat hole for wasting TAXPAYER money. There, “Branded”. Didn’t need to blow off more than HALF-MILLION$$$$ in TAXPAYER money to figure that out.
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I think this underscores how stupid it was to approve the bond issue. The district obviously got more money than it needed since its leadership feels it has the budget to engage in this foolishness. The perceived brand of any public school district should be the educational results it delivers. But that isn’t something EPSID is known for so I guess they’ve opted for smoke and mirrors instead.
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EPISD’s spending exceeds their income. They are living beyond their means. As the El Paso Times has reported twice in recent weeks, EPISD and one other local district are dipping into reserves to pay their bills. It took the Times to bring that to the public’s attention, another example of good reporting that some people choose to ignore.
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This whole branding thing would be hilarious if it wasn’t so deeply tragic for our community and our students.
I was freaking out when they hired a Director of Branding (an EPISD Employee earning $75,000+ a year whose sole purpose is “improve the EPISD Brand”).
What does that even MEAN? It means, literally, to make things the district has and does “look” cooler. No joke. No sarcasm. THAT is EXACTLY what it means.
I further “freaked out” (and commented) when they gave this clown a full staff and then FULL CONTROL of every communication and every action of EVERY department here at central office! Yes, they now have to “approve” everything generated and sent out from Ed Center, Boeing.
Now, they are going to hand these folks over a half million dollar budget!
Their whole purpose is to make things look pretty. They are taking fully functional signs, fully functional websites, fully functional memos, fully functional logos and many other basic things around the District and changing them to make them look “cooler”. I’m not kidding. That is all they are doing. I am an eye witness to this ongoing idiocy.
Your hard earned tax payer money is now flying down the drain to make things look cooler. And, a huge part of that money is flying down the drain to another state to the company hired to set up all this… What do THEY do, you ask?
They ‘make suggestions’.
Yes. They make suggestions to the Branding Department, who then change things to make them look cooler.
And guess what? THIS is just the opening act! Just wait, folks. The orgy of spending your money on everything and anything that has NOTHING to do with educating our kids is just getting started! Mark my words… This next school year is going to feature expenditures that will make this folly seem tame and tiny by comparison!
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Spend money on education! Ha! The goal is appease the customers of EPISD—PARENTS! There is no effort to support teachers, have their backs, help them, educate them. If it’s bad for the parents it’s bad for EPISD. The branding will be good for the customers not for education. EPISD is graded “not yet” which means they get to keep trying until it is done right. Unfortunately the fox is guarding the hen house. All that matters is how the parents and PTA “feel.”
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Hey, now that Dori has her eye on congress she needs to portray a good image for voters. All of it, funded by we taxpayers.
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