Canutillo Independent School District Superintendent Pedro Galaviz will retire at year’s end as the district prepares to take drastic action to prevent financial crisis, including laying off teachers and staff and making staffing changes that could affect employee salaries.
Galaviz said he plans to officially leave the position Dec. 25, citing the current political climate around education and the management of the Canutillo ISD school board.
“I think the current board has a different agenda as far as student outcomes and how we get there. They’re very hands on, which is OK, I welcome it. However it’s not their expertise in the area of running a multi million-dollar budget,” Galaviz told El Paso Matters Wednesday afternoon. “Everybody wants kids to be successful, everybody wants us not to be in a budget deficit, but it’s how to get there. … Boards want change without change. Boards want us to balance a budget without balancing a budget, without making decisions that they’re elected to do.”
The Canutillo ISD school board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss contracting a superintendent search firm and selecting an interim superintendent. Galaviz told the board about his planned departure in April.
The Canutillo ISD school board is debating budget cuts and slashing staffing expenses to avoid potential financial exigency — the equivalent of bankruptcy for education institutions, while it prepares its budget for the coming school year.
The board Wednesday will also vote whether to not renew the contracts of 12 teachers as the final step of the reduction in force approved by trustees in March. The board has until the end of June to adopt its budget for the 2025-26 school year.
With lawmakers debating whether to raise the basic allotment for public schools — which has been set at $6,160 per student since 2019 — the board must plan a budget without knowing if there will be any increases in funding.
“The current political climate, the state of Texas, with Governor Abbott and vouchers, how’s that going to affect schools? We’re already struggling with budgets. What more kids are going to go and leave?” Galaviz said about a controversial educational savings account program that would give families state funds to enroll their child in private school.
Layoffs, state funding
Communications director Gustavo Reveles said 15 employees are being laid off, but not all had contracts that required them to be listed on the agenda for approval by the board. Another 20 employees took a $500 separation incentive notifying the district early that they plan to resign or retire.
Reveles said another 15 employees who were on the original list of layoffs will transfer to another position within the Canutillo ISD. The district will continue to look for other positions employees can fill, he said.
The board Wednesday will also decide whether to retract a 3% salary increase given to central office administrative staff in 2023, make changes to human resources positions that could reduce pay, and reduce or eliminate certification specialist positions to cut expenses.
Galaviz was critical of these agenda items, which he said could affect employee morale if approved.
“One of the board members requested, what if we cut 3% from central office administrators? That generates $46,000,” Galaviz said. “How’s that building climate and culture? Why would I want to work here if it’s me who’s next?”
District officials said future layoffs may be possible if the state does not increase funding for public education.
“The reality is we’re dealing with the budget deficit for this upcoming year, but very early projections for the year after that still indicate a deficit because the state has not increased that per student funding since 2019,” Reveles told El Paso Matters. “The only way we can increase our funding is either the state does it, or all of a sudden, El Paso reverses course and there’s more kids coming into our schools.”
Last year, the board adopted a $67.9 million budget with a $2.75 million deficit. The changes approved by the board in March are expected to reduce the district’s projected deficit for the coming school year from $5.8 million to $2.3 million.
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