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On May 18, the public learned that EPISD was facing a $52.8 million budget deficit in the 3rd fiscal quarter. A recent internal audit placed the blame almost entirely on the former CFO, Martha Aguirre.
Julia Spencer of KFOX14 recently interviewed Dr. Jack Loveridge, Vice-President of the EPISD Board of Trustees, and got him to admit that both he and President Leah Hanany were told by the CFO in December that enrollment was 850 students below projections and would result in a loss of $5 million in state funding.
Neither he nor Hanany took the CFO’s concern to the Board of Trustees for discussion or corrective action.
But here is the stunner. When asked by Spencer why he and Hanany failed to address the budget shortfall, Loveridge replied: “Typically that’s something that comes from the administration side, so if that does rise to the level of us needing to have a conversation, we don’t actually run the district as a Board of Trustees. We provide oversight.”
Well, that is fascinating!
We consulted Texas Education Code §11.1511, which enumerates the 15 specific powers and duties of boards of trustees of independent school districts. These include establishing financial performance goals, monitoring district and superintendent performance, adopting a tax rate, approving the budget and overseeing finances, and hiring and evaluating the superintendent.
Specifically, the trustees must “monitor district finances to ensure that the superintendent is properly maintaining the district’s financial procedures and records.”
Dr. Loveridge claims the trustees “don’t actually run EPISD,” but then who does?
Yes, the superintendent is responsible for operations, but he serves at the pleasure of the trustees. They are responsible for monitoring him, just as they were responsible for monitoring Aguirre when she was (foolishly) appointed Interim Superintendent.
Without a doubt, Loveridge and Hanany should resign.
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