The El Paso independent school district is planning to put a tax question to the voters. The board wants to move ten cents from the rate we are charged for interest on bonds over to the day-to-day maintenance and operations portion of the budget.
In theory the taxpayers will pay no more if the voters approve the action. The district tells us however that approving the change will bring an additional $7 million in from the state.
The school board has said that they will give each teacher a $750 one-time bonus if the issue is approved.
According to a recent article in the Times the management of the teachers union does not support the idea. From the Times:
Teachers don’t trust that the board will actually pay out the bonus, said Ross Moore, president of the El Paso chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.
“There have been promises time after time and it’s been a bait and switch,” Moore said, adding that some teachers feel the bonus is an attempt to “bribe” them.
“If you vote ‘yes,’ you get money,” Moore said at the meeting.
So we have to decide if we trust the district.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Does the Superintendant get another ‘bonus’ for finding this additional money for the district?
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Any vote is about whether you “trust” something will happen or whether some person will do what they promise to do. Millions believed #45 when he said “Trust me, only the best people will be in my administration.”
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The Cabrera administration seems unable to adjust their budget and their practices to fit the size of their student population. A chart of EPISD student enrollment over the last 12 years is not a wild curve but a very predictable and slight decline each year. Why can’t they just plan for their actual size and stop belly aching about surprises and shortcomings? They seem to be addicted to buying the next great fad and unable to focus on the business of running a school district? They just got the largest bond in history and now claim to desperately need more cash in order to keep the party going. To me, this sounds like it’s probably a lie. The money is there – they just don’t spend it wisely. The term “penny swap” also sounds like a lie to cover up a reality. It reminds me of an addict who will lie, cheat, and steal to get their next fix. I’m not going to enable these people anymore. I seem to remember the Super getting about a 1,500,000 penny raise this year – why not use those pennies to get your kicks Mr. Cabrera? I’d like to keep my pennies.
BTW – The fact that the Super was the only one in the organization to get a raise this year is another great example of how he feels about his minions. We will see if $750 is enough to buy a teacher’s vote for one election? And I guess bus drivers and custodians just don’t vote reliably and aren’t even worth a one time bride!
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To me, this sounds like it’s probably a lie. The money is there – they just don’t spend it wisely.
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Don’t forget who is running the numbers for EPISD – Ms. Fuzzy Math – who also gave us the costs on the QoL bond issue that are now known to be wildly inaccurate.
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Anonymous says: Where did you see that the Superintendent of EPISD got a raise this year?
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It seems pretty fiscally stupid to take money away from the debt service bucket when you’ve just taken out a huge bond issue, particularly when interest rates are likely to rise.
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Does the state really pay a school district to shift money from debt service to M&O or is this a way to increase a state match ?
Not familiar with this.
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good governance oxymoron says, YES they do! And it will be an extra 7 million every year, not just next year. Of course, you can never be guaranteed where they will spend the money but you can rest assured when the district gets it it will be paid as a salary increase to the Patrons before the Peons get their share after the $750 bonus. But I will vote for it anyway because it is the only chance the employees will get anything!
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Thank you Mr Wever
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So how much “Pay raise” benefits, NEW benefits does Cabrera get out of this “Con” scam of the homeowners, tax payers?? The “Shell game”. Where is the “pea” the TRUTH hidden?? Yeah, WE can trust them about as much as WE can trust the Mayor, City Council, Commissioners in El Taxo. The only way that WE can ever survive THEM is to say “NO”, vote NO to everything THEY want. Lie, deny, hide, deceive.
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This is all so sad. It happened piece by piece like all misfortune. People should listen to the teachers. We know where the interests of the crook/ politicians lie, lie,lie
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First they say we need new schools then they say we need to close some schools and this only cost us $680M. Cabrera is in the same bucket as Gonzalez – overpaid and robbing the community for self
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There is NEVER any School Official, Public Official who is “Qualified” to do any job in El Taxo. A Principal, a Teacher NONE of them are capable, intelligent enough to sit in a fat chair, scam an outrageous, exorbitant “salary” from the POOR people of El Taxo. The “Board”, a “Committee” has to WASTE thousands of taxpayer$$$ to hire a “Consulting” firm to bring in some “Carpet bagger” from OUTSIDE of El Taxo. Cabrera was NOT even QUALIFIED for the job. The City “Manager” Tommy Gonzalez was FIRED in Dallas. They can’t get a job any where else so they come to El Taxo, the little hillbilly, hick town on the border, to scam, con US “stupid, ignorant peons”. THEY take so much, they leave here and never need another job. EPISD, UMC, City Council, Mayors Office, Commissioners all just one big criminal empire, Cartel , with one purpose. Fleece the people who can barely survive paying for all THEY WANT.
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This kind of financial engineering doesn’t usually save failing companies in the private sector and it isn’t going to work for EPISD or the City. It’s just kicking an empty can down the street.
I don’t have to decide if I trust EPISD. I know I don’t trust them.
This is a blatant attempt to buy teacher votes, which is illegal. EPISD’s board and management should be investigated.
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episd employs about 9,000
assume that about 6,000 of those are married
that makes it easy for episd to influence about 15,000 votes
that doesn’t even include extended family
about 80,000 votes were cast in the last episd bond election
episd knows that if it buys the votes of teachers and their families, it can tilt the results
don’t think they haven’t done the math
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Not all employees live in the EPISD district
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So if they live in Las Cruces, any where in New Mexico or Juarez, they should not be allowed to vote.
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They do not get to vote unless they live in the EPISD school district.
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Guess you know, Dan, I don’t for sure. Someone posted that people that live OUTSIDE the EPISD also vote. Don’t know why they would be allowed. The money, results, TAXES is not on them.
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even if you cut the number, you’re still talking about thousands of votes that can affect the outcome. episd will also spends lots of OUR dollars to influence public opinion.
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I would suggest, expect that Cabrera told all EPISD employees that “You WILL vote YES on MY Bonds……………and if MY Bonds do not pass……..” After all it was HIS almost BILLION$$$ slush fund. So what was the money for, again??
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It is against the law for the EPISD to spend a dime on promoting the election. But of course, it does not stop them from doing so.
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Most teachers I know do not trust EPISD and will vote no. I know for a fact only teachers who live in the EPISD district get to vote.
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Robbing Peter to Pay Peter more….
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Nobody wonders why people leave the city. It is a joke, a sad joke on the people who love it. There is no religion higher than the truth.
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No vote here. Deputy Dawg gets paid enough to give away from wifi.
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Exactly right. I could “call in” my Bond votes, have somebody push the button for my ALWAYS NO vote. Unfortunately not enough people in El Taxo see the “Wisdom” of voting NO, telling politicians, Public Officials NO. “It’s for the children. They need a new multi-million$$$ splash puddle, hand ball court, tennis court, pencils, erasers, computers, etc,etc,etc”. But mostly it’s always just PERSONAL slush funds for these people to blow off as THEY want. And they know that and that is why THEY just keep coming back and taking MORE from US. Lie, deny, deceive, tax, waste, spend, tax MORE. That is El Taxo. Inherent Public corruption. Maybe WE could have a vote on a permanent FBI, Texas Ranger Office at EPISD, City Hall, Commissioners?.
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