There are nine school districts in El Paso County, each with its own superintendent and administration. they have an unquenchable thirst for tax dollars and already account for more than 40% of our property tax.
When they run out of money or want to build things, the school districts place bond propositions on ballots and lobby hard to get them passed.
For example, the voters passed a $669 million EPISD bond in 2016 and a $425 million Ysleta ISD bond in 2019.
In 2022, Canutillo ISD went for $264 million and San Elizario for $25 million, but these bonds were rejected by the voters.
In recent months we learned that EPISD wants the voters to support a new $600 million bond, only eight years after the last one, and Canutillo ISD wants to go for $387 million and Socorro ISD for $769 million.
Canutillo ISD is facing a budget deficit of $6 million while Soccoro ISD is $33 million in the red. Fabens ISD has been subjected to a state review because of pervasive administrative problems.
Meanwhile, most of the districts are suffering from declining student enrollment and high teacher attrition rates while the number of well-paid administrators continues to increase. See our recent analysis of EPISD salaries.
CONSOLIDATE THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS!
We continue to believe we should reduce the number of school districts from nine to three, streamline the administrations, use part of the savings to improve the pay and working conditions of teachers, and return the remaining balance to taxpayers in the form of a lower property tax.
Texas law provides for school district consolidation by citizen petition and it has been done before.
According to the Texas Education Agency, there have been 76 school district consolidations and annexations in our state between 1983 and 2021.
According to its website, “Consolidations involve two or more school districts merging into a single district. Annexations occur when territory is detached from one school district and annexed to a bordering one.”
So why can’t we merge our school districts in El Paso County?
Some argue that it is better to have smaller districts because they are easier to manage and there is more accountability, but we have seen no proof that this is true.
The administrations of our school districts, like all self-serving government bureaucracies, would fight like hell against the mere idea of consolidating and streamlining.
They won’t even allow the state to provide the public with an empirical rating system so that the public can make better choices. EPISD, Canutillo ISD, and San Elizario ISD have joined with dozens of other Texas school districts in a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency aiming to prevent the release of new accountability ratings.
Does anyone wonder why charter schools are popping up like spring flowers and homeschooling is gaining in popularity?
If we want to safeguard our school districts and improve student outcomes, it will require a lot of political courage from our boards of trustees and State Delegation.
In the end, it may have to be the citizens who take action to force change.
published a list of all school consolidations and annexations in Texas from 1983 through 2021.
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