EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The president of the Socorro Independent School District’s (SISD) Board of Trustees, Michael Najera, gave a press conference Thursday afternoon to address questions over the board’s approval to go under conservatorship from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
SISD Board of Trustees President Michael Najera
According to Najera, SISD’s current $33 million deficit did not influence their decision to approve the conservatorship from the TEA.
According to the TEA’s website, they appoint a conservator when a district fails to satisfy accreditation criteria, academic performance standards, or financial accountability standards, or on the basis of a special investigation.
Najera said that SISD is under eight separate investigations by the TEA.
SISD will be responsible for paying the conservator, and Najera said they do not know at this time what the costs will be as they are awaiting a clear plan from the TEA.
Najera also said there has not been any mention of the TEA appointing a board instead of a conservator.
SISD’s Superintendent Nate Carman is set to leave at the end of the school year for a similar position with a school district in Arizona. When asked about how involved he expects TEA to be in the decision-making process, Najera said his understanding is that they will allow the district to operate as it should, unless they find that they are doing something wrong.
The president of the Socorro American Federation of Teachers, a teacher’s union that serves over 2,000 members with SISD, said they do not welcome TEA control with open arms, and that they feel “betrayed” by the Board of Trustees.
“We fought long and hard for a democratic election of school board members who would fight for the best interests of our district, our students, our teachers, and now, very much, we’re not going to have a voice,” said Socorro AFT President Veronica Hernandez.
Hernandez explained that they are concerned, uncertain of what decisions the TEA might make without receiving input from the people that work at the schools and district.
When asked about the union’s concerns Najera said:
“We’re facing challenges okay, we can’t continue to ignore them. We could continue to fight them, but the simple fact of the matter is, when you know that there’s a possibility that you did something wrong, why would you not want to address it face first? Why would you not want to incite the help of those who can help you? Correct it. And address it.”
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