According to KTSM our EPISD superintendent and one of the school board members will be out of town and will not attend the public meetings held to discuss the closure of ten elementary schools.
We have been told that the out of town meeting is important and has been scheduled for months.
Simple
The superintendent and school board members should be at the public meetings. The simple solution is to reschedule those public meetings so that the officials can attend.
The solution is so simple that many of us can see that in reality our superintendent does not want to attend.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
The public meetings will be held so the box is checked for holding the meetings. Since this is a joint decision between administration and the Board (to close schools) the Superintendent and Board Member feel it is not necessary for their presence. Next up is the box that says CLOSE THE SCHOOLS at the Board meeting. Even I can see this has been carefully orchestrated, scripted, and scheduled. My crystal ball is hazy, but I think it is saying that if they close some of the school slated for consolidation, they can save Bond money to be used for other purposes. Of course they’ll have to hire another consultant to tell them what to use the unspent Bond money on.
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I’m sure the superintendent feels that facing a room full of angry parents isn’t a good use of his time. Leadership at its best—not.
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I have one of the hardest jobs in America.
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Being the superintendent of a politically charged, educationally stunted, declining district is difficult. Especially with a board member out to fry your butt if you don’t follow every word of her dictaks. You face criticism from parents and students who don’t speak proper Spanish or English when trying to implement dual language. You have found dual language is not something that can be imposed district wide, despite the self serving “research” by a UTEP professor. You have discovered that the west side wants all the benefits of the bond. You have been “enlightened” on the enrollment problems that were masked and mis-reported for many years. Now you are faced with making very unpopular closings of schools, an action that should have occurred many years ago.You have uncovered evidence the bond won’t cover everything the original consultants promised. And its too late to open that third envelope. What will you do.
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Difficult is one thing, but Cabrera declaring that his job is one of the hardest jobs in America was stupid and egomaniacal. If the bond won’t cover everything the original consultants promised, that’s on Cabrera. He hired them and it was his responsibility to review and vet their work. As for the west side wanting all the benefits of the bond, that’s more east vs. west BS, but Cabrera isn’t wringing his hands over that because the westsiders are the ones he has tried to endear himself to.
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A Superintendent who came to El Paso, is not even QUALIFIED for the job, is paid an outrageous, obscene salary, benefits and then helps his minions SCAM the people, TAXPAYERS for an almost BILLION$$$ Bond. The “Budget is “Short” 4-7 MLLION$$# or MORE, so where did all the MILLIONS$$$$ go? Cabrera was, IS too high-dollar for El Paso taxpayers, home owners. And the “Trustees” (WE can’t TRUST them) continue to tax, waste, spend, tax more. And WE are expected to provide him the life-style to which they promised him.
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Well maybe it is something “Important, out of town”, that Cabrera can’t be here to take care of EPISD, the VOTERS bizness. A “Golf meeting”, Las Vegas, a cruise?? Maybe he ordered a new carpetbag to carry all his money in and had to go pick it up? I’m waiting to see how big OUR tax CUT will be when all those schools are CLOSED. Just kidding. EPISD, Cabrera will need to INCREASE TAXES even more, because they uh, ah, oh, well, he, uh they decided that uh, ah, oh well ah, you know. Just one big corrupt empire like City Hall, County, everything else in El Taxo.
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Pay me a half million a year in salary, bonuses and perks like Cabrera gets and I will gladly attend every meeting, let people verbally abuse me, and smile the entire time.
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I’m glad to see the board taking over operations since Cabrera has not been driving the bus lately. I’d like to see them take a little more responsibility and get rid of Cabrera. Closing a bunch of schools is the biggest news to hit EPISD in a while and we need leadership right now. He is MIA when we need him most. I don’t see how Cabrera can walk back into his job after missing graduation ceremonies and critical public meetings. As a leader he is finished – does anyone have confidence in him? Has he finally given up and hit his wine drinking full time? It’s time for the board to be public about replacing Cabrera and stop the endless spinning.
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Doesn’t matter who is in control, the school closings have to happen.
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He can do what you say he should have trouble with because he has a contract worth well over 2 million dollars in his pocket thanks to the generous Board of Trustees.
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Driving a bus is beneath me.
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And you aren’t Juan Cabrera
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How many of the schools being considered for closure were designated as part of the $600+ million bond project list?
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It looks like none. They probably planned all along to close these, but didn’t announce it because of how it would have affected their money grab.
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Wish i could embed a png file here. There has been a plan to close 17 altogether. 7 were not part of the bond. 5 are including 3 middle school-elementary consolidations (Pk-8). The ones they are aiming for right now need to be closed before the new school year.
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Thanks Mike,
EPISD only names 10 schools for closure.
Are you saying there are 7 more? If so which ones?
Four were identified for closure and consolidation as part of the Bond 2016 Schuster, Bonham, Johnson and Roberts.
The additional school 6 closures are Beall, Moye, Hawkins, Rivera, Rusk and Alta Vista
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Burnett has already been approved for closure. Beall and Moye, Dowell/Schuster/Crosby for 2018; Hawkins, Alto Vista, Rusk and Rivera for 2019. for 2020-Lincoln/Bond/ Roberts, MacArthur/Bonham, Morehead/Johnson. Schools with no date will be closed immediately(?) Hughey/Ross, Bradley/Fannin, Henderson/Clardy, Terrace Hills/Collins.
This is from a Board briefing slide
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I thought the question Good Governance was asking was how many of the schools now being closed were earmarked for capital project spending as part of the bond.
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Waiting for Deputy Dawg to chime in and explain to us why the posts on this blog are just the meanderings of grumpy, old men.
Tim, we need your wisdom. Please explain to us simpletons.
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Close the schools and get it over with. The public meetings will be nothing more than complaining parents and activists. I would be upset, too, if the school across the street from me, the school I attended and my children attend, is closing. But that won’t change the facts. Cabrera at the meetings doesn’t change anything, either. Just do it! We’re all tired of the drama.
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They are not attending these meetings because they are to be a sham.
No advice, or input, or argument will make it past the walls of the room in which they are shouted.
EPISD admin will do what they are planning to do. They neither value or desire anyone’s opinion to the contrary.
Read Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince”. It will teach you absolutely everything you need to know about the current admin in our district.
The input of the masses is irrelevant to them.
But, they DO understand that they must provide some opportunity for you to squawk and squeal and root about so that you begin to feel that you have been allowed to express yourself on the matter at hand. Then, they will do what they planned from the beginning anyway.
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