El Paso Independent School District employees have begun receiving notices informing them that their jobs are on the chopping block and have until Friday to resign if they prefer to do so – a move union leaders are warning against.
Employees began receiving notices on Tuesday, a week after the board voted to declare financial exigency and eliminate over 90 jobs as part of an unprecedented plan to cut payroll costs.
The notices inform employees that they have been recommended for termination as part of a reduction in force, which will be voted on by the board Monday, June 15.
Franklin High School social studies teacher Jesus Carreon, who received a notice informing him his job has been “identified for elimination,” said one of his primary concerns is how the layoffs are going to affect class sizes and students.
“Ultimately, the ones that are going to suffer are going to be the students,” Carreon said. “Kids are going to be put into classrooms with like 30 or more students. So it’s not just like, ‘Hey, I’m losing my job.’ That’s awful, too, but it’s affecting these kids’ education.”
Superintendent Brian Lusk has said the district, which continues to face declining enrollment, plans to maintain current class sizes next year.
The notice gives employees the option to resign and includes a form they can fill out and turn in by 5 p.m. Friday to step down voluntarily.
Unlike most employers, EPISD does not pay unemployment taxes so it will have to reimburse the Texas Workforce Commission for any payments made in unemployment compensation. The district would not have to pay reimbursements for people who resign and aren’t generally eligible for unemployment benefits.
Union leaders, including El Paso Teachers Association President Norma De La Rosa and El Paso Federation of Teachers President Kara Cervantes, warned against it, saying it could affect their ability to receive unemployment benefits.
Cervantes said employees who resign may not be able to request a hearing with the board, which districts must offer to those being affected by layoffs under Texas law.
“If they resign, they’re no longer eligible for unemployment benefits, and there is a hearing process for people who were affected by (reduction in force), and they would no longer be subject to that either. So I’m advising people not to resign,” Cervantes told El Paso Matters.
EPISD officials said the notices are intended to inform employees of the recommendation and provide details on the next steps available to them. The notices do not state that resigning voluntarily could disqualify them from getting unemployment benefits. Instead, they state that if they voluntarily resign, their contracts won’t be brought before the board.
A total of 63 employees have received these notices, district officials said.
“El Paso ISD is committed to ensuring employees receive clear and accurate information throughout the reduction in force process. The resignation form included with the notification packet is entirely voluntary and is provided only as an option for employees who may prefer to resign rather than have their contract recommended for termination due to financial exigency and reduction in force,” district officials said in a statement.
“Should you choose to resign, we will be more than happy to provide you with a letter of reference that explains the circumstances of your separation from El Paso ISD due to reduction in force,” the letter states.
Officials also said that “questions regarding unemployment benefits should be directed to the appropriate government agency, as eligibility determinations are made by entities outside of EPISD.”
The EPISD board is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss and vote on the termination of several employee contracts from all over the district, including teachers, social workers, school psychologists and testing coordinators, among others.
De La Rosa said most of her members who received a notice are probationary teachers who are just starting their careers in education.
“This is devastating for them simply because these probationary teachers are not that many years outside of having graduated from (the University of Texas at El Paso). So they have student loans they’re going to have to pay off,” De La Rosa said.
For Carreon, the notice turned his career plans upside down after teaching at EPISD for less than a year.
Carreon graduated with a psychology degree in 2024 and was working on getting an alternative social studies teaching certification, which requires one year of experience working in the classroom.
Now he’ll have to find another job teaching social studies to complete his certification, but he hasn’t had much luck so far. All other school districts in El Paso County are experiencing declining enrollment and have limited teaching openings outside of specialized roles like special education or bilingual education.
“Yesterday I stayed up until 2 a.m. and I’ve been updating my resume and filling out applications. Unfortunately, it looks like, in terms of El Paso, there’s not really much positions for social studies,” Carreon said.
“If I don’t find a job that’s in teaching, I guess I’m going to get unemployment, and then either try to find a job I could get with my bachelor’s in psychology, or just find something in the meantime while I try to get lucky,” he added.
The post El Paso ISD employees targeted for layoffs receive notices, union leaders warn against resigning voluntarily appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More