TEA conservators speak at Socorro ISD’s meeting
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Socorro Independent School District Board of Trustees hosted a Regular meeting Wednesday evening, May 15 at the district’s office where the two newly appointed Texas Education Agency (TEA) conservators made their first appearance.
Moments before the meeting, TEA conservators Michael Hinojosa and Andrew Kim spoke to the media addressing the wide array of issues the district has been facing including: the multi-million-dollar shortfall, the allegations of graduation irregularities, unauthorized stipend payments and the recent arrests of two trustees.
The conservators said it could take them at least a year to help the district with their ongoing issues.
“I will be looking at the decisions that the Board makes. The Board is at a crossroads on a few things. They have had a deficit budget for the last couple of years. They’re about to adopt the budget, and I’m really concerned about what kind of decisions they’re going to make regarding the budget,” said Hinojosa.
The district has proposed several things to address the shortfall including closing down several schools, reducing the starting salary for new employees and even considering closing the district’s Aquatic Center.
Steve Lecholop, the TEA’s Deputy Commissioner for Governance, described the conservatorship as providing “an extra set of eyes.”
“We view our conservators as partners and force multipliers for school districts to support superintendents, to support school boards, to provide extra sets of eyes, to identify not only solutions and impediments to students’ success, but also potential fixes,” said Lecholop.
Additionally, Trustees Pablo Barrera and Ricardo Castellano, who are facing legal matters, were present at the meeting.
As we previously reported, Barrera, Castellano and his wife, Gabriela Castellano, were indicted for allegedly trying to improper influence operation at two different schools and at the district’s office, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
All three members of the TEA stated they could not comment on the legal matters regarding the two trustee members.
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