This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
Braden’s Home of Hope: New Children’s Grief Center to Open
The Children’s Grief Center of El Paso is set to open a new bereavement facility in Central El Paso next week after renting a space on the Eastside. The nonprofit purchased a more than 100-year-old house that was previously used as an insurance office and home health care provider.
Braden’s Home of Hope, 2616 Montana Ave., will provide support for children, teenagers and their families grieving the death of a loved one. Services include peer support groups, individual therapy and grief-informed training for educators and mental health professionals.
The Children’s Grief Center will be open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. People are encouraged to call ahead at 915-532-6004 to make an appointment and go through the screening process.
Peer support is free of charge while clients can pay for individual therapy by insurance or sliding scale cost. Clients also undergo a comprehensive grief assessment that costs $25 for adults and $20 for youths. No one will be turned away, however, said Daniela Sandoval, development and operations manager.
The nonprofit has served El Paso since 1995 with the goal of promoting healing and mental wellbeing in children affected by loss. The organization also works with children’s caregivers who are parenting through grief.
The $1 million facility is about $350,000 short of funding, Sandoval said. The funds will go toward an outdoor playscape, memorial garden, meditation room and exterior renovations.
“We want to make it more holistically a bereavement center, a place where people can go to feel comforted and connected to others going through the same,” Sandoval said.
A grand opening event is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon Feb. 25. The building is named after Braden Aboud of the Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation, who died from a skiing accident at age 14.
Information: cgcelpaso.org.
Regents Cut UTEP Student Housing Complex Budget, Approve Success Center
The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Thursday reduced the budget for a planned student housing complex at the University of Texas at El Paso while also approving $65 million for a new Student Success Center that will replace the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center.
During its quarterly meeting in Austin, the board amended the housing project’s budget to $102 million — a $6 million reduction from the proposal approved last November as part of the system’s Capital Improvement Program. Regents also approved the project’s design and authorized expenditures to move forward.
During her Feb. 18 presentation to the board’s Facilities Planning and Construction Committee, UTEP President Heather Wilson said the university tightened the project’s cost but increased the number of beds from 456 to 507. When completed, the addition will increase the number of beds on campus to 1,454.
Wilson said the reduced budget would ease the future burden on the students who will pay for the 142,000-square-foot complex through their housing contracts. It will be located just north of Kidd Field.
The agenda item described the building as a four-story co-ed dormitory with single- and double-occupancy for freshmen, as well as 130 student-athletes. It will include a fitness center, activity room, study room and lounges, as well as a dining hall.
The exterior will use UTEP’s signature Bhutanese architecture. The project should break ground this spring and be completed by August 2028.
The goal is to accommodate enrollment growth and strengthen recruitment efforts. The most recent UTEP on-campus student housing waiting list was 441.
The board also approved $65 million for a planned Student Success Center that will replace the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center. The building will house eateries and event space, and be the new home of the Counseling and Psychological Services, University Career Center, the Military Student Success Center and the Center for Accommodations and Support Services. It should open in 2031.
EPISD Offers $3,000 Resignation Incentive for Teachers, Others
The El Paso Independent School District is offering teachers, certain administrators and instructional staff such as instructional coaches, testing coordinators and advisers, a $3,000 incentive to voluntarily resign as it prepares its budget for the coming school year.
The EPISD Board of Trustees voted 6-0 Wednesday to extend the timeline for eligible employees to get the incentive until March 6. Trustee Jack Loveridge was absent.
The board on Feb. 2 voted 6-0 to offer the $3,000 buyout for those who provide an early notification of their plans to resign or retire at the end of their 2025-26 contract by Feb. 20, or $1,500 if it’s done by Feb. 27. Trustee Alex Cuellar was absent.
District officials said the early notice incentive helps the district better plan financially for the next school year.
“As we move forward, like our peers in neighboring districts, we are seeing declining enrollment. With that, it’s prudent for us to make some decisions to help us understand where our staffing is. And so this early notification incentive allows us the opportunity to know the intentions of some of our employees who may be deciding to retire or resign at the end of the school year,” EPISD Superintendent Brian Lusk said during the Feb. 2 meeting.
Last year, the Socorro and Ysleta school districts offered buyouts to employees as they attempted to cut expenses and escape financial turmoil.
SISD offered a $2,500 incentive for the first 100 employees to turn in an early resignation notice in March 2025 to avoid laying off 300 employees. After receiving over 230 resignations and rearranging staff placement, the SISD school board voted to lay off 43 employees, though 23 of them were instead moved to vacant positions in the district. In May, YISD offered a similar $5,000 buyout for the first 400 employees to resign early.
EPISD’s chief communications officer, Liza Rodriguez, said the district is at this time not considering cutting programs or laying off employees.
“We’re doing a lot of other moves and strategic planning to not cut,” Rodriguez said.
$2 Million to Help UTEP Drone Research, Training in Fabens, Tornillo
Students at the University of Texas at El Paso will be able to expand drone research and “real-world” training at UTEP’s remote facilities in the Lower Valley because of a $2 million appropriation from the federal government.
University President Heather Wilson announced the award Feb. 13 in front of about 40 people made up mostly by staff and administrators who crowded into the Mission Control Room of UTEP’s Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center.
Wilson said the funds would go toward the expansion of UTEP’s drone facilities in Fabens and flight test range in Tornillo. There also will be upgrades to radar and electrical systems as well as technology infrastructure. Additionally, part of the money will go to hire staff and students to assist with research and instruction.
“It will have a positive impact on the community,” Wilson said.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who attended the event, secured the appropriation. Gonzales’ District 23 includes parts of El Paso’s Lower Valley to include Fabens and Tornillo. He said drone technology is important to the economy and national security.
Gonzales, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, in a May letter to the committee said the requested funds would enhance workforce development and provide opportunities for students interested in future careers in aerospace, public safety and national security.
UTEP announced in late July that the Federal Aviation Administration granted a Beyond Visual Line of Site waiver so it could conduct drone operations in an 87-square-mile test range near Tornillo.
Shery Welsh, executive director of UTEP’s Aerospace Center, said this waiver will allow trainees and researchers to test drones under real-world conditions. She called the new funds an investment that would educate the future workforce.
3 El Paso School Districts Reject Designated Prayer Period
The El Paso, Socorro and Ysleta school districts will not implement a designated prayer period, their respective school boards voted this week.
Senate Bill 11, approved during the 2025 Texas Legislature, allows school districts to adopt policies to give students and staff a set time to pray and read the Bible or other religious texts. Though school districts are not required to set a designated prayer period, they have until March 1 to vote on the policy.
The EPISD school board voted 4-2 Wednesday against a prayer period. Trustees Valerie Beals and Daniel Call voted in favor of the measure. Trustee Jack Loveridge was absent.
The SISD school board voted 6-0 Thursday against a prayer period. Trustee Charles Smith was absent.
The YISD board voted 6-1 Thursday against setting the prayer period. Trustee Cruz Ochoa cast the lone vote in favor of the prayer period.
Some board members discussed concerns that the bill’s requirements may be difficult to follow if they approve the policy and may require changes to the school day.
Under SB 11, schools cannot allow students to participate in, listen to or be in the presence of the prayer period without written parental approval.
Before the bill was implemented, students were already allowed to pray or read religious texts in school as long as it did not disrupt other students’ learning, according to guidance offered by the previous and current presidential administrations. Schools can also excuse students from class to allow them to pray or meet other religious obligations.
Next Phase of City’s Public Art Master Plan Adopted
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the long-term public art master plan as well as the 2026 plan for art projects throughout the city.
The 2026-2036 Public Art Master Plan Update provides a 10-year roadmap for the program, while the 2026 plan lists this year’s priorities, including three new art pieces at the El Paso International Airport.
The program was adopted in 2006 as an ordinance requiring 2% from every capital improvement project be allocated toward public art. Since its inception, the city has spent about $17.5 million and added 95 art pieces and installations throughout the city and worked with more than 200 artists, a majority of whom have been local.
About 20 installations are underway and nearing completion, according to a city presentation, including four public safety-related art pieces and one at the Richard E. Castro – Eastside Sports Complex, 14380 Montwood Drive.
“Approval of these plans supports our award-winning Public Art Program and advances our vision of giving voice to the City’s creative spirit,” Quality of Life Managing Director Ben Fyffe said in a Tuesday news release. “El Paso’s robust public art landscape reflects this community’s enduring connection to the arts.”
The updated master plan builds on the 2014 master plan and was developed in partnership with public art consultants Via Partnership LLP and Todd W. Bressi, along with El Paso’s Kerry Doyle.
Information: City of El Paso public art website to see the public art dashboard with an interactive map.
County Sets Second Animal Shelter Planning Meeting
El Paso County is hosting a community meeting regarding its planned animal shelter at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Clint Independent School District’s Central Administration Building, 14521 Horizon Blvd.
During the meeting, county officials will present new design concepts and schematic design layouts. The project’s timeline and opportunities for public art will also be discussed.
About $32.7 million for the county’s first animal shelter, to be located adjacent to the El Paso County Jail Annex on Montana Avenue east of Joe Battle Boulevard, was approved by voters as part of the 2024 bond.
The shelter will provide free and low-cost vaccinations, spay and neuter surgeries and serve as an extension to the Pets Advancing Wellness and Success Program operated by the Animal Rescue League of El Paso in partnership with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
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