Latest news with #IsraelIrrobali
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
El Paso ISD board takes no action on superintendent after marathon meeting
Editor's note: Video is from our 10 p.m. newscast. The EPISD board was still taking public comment as the newscast was happening. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — After more than five hours of public discussion and then meeting behind closed doors, the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees took no action on the future of Superintendent Diana Sayavedra during a marathon meeting on Tuesday, May 27. EPISD board to review status, duties of superintendent The special meeting was called to discuss the employment status and duties of Sayavedra, who has led the district since January 2022. She was also given a five-year contract extension in January 2024. The special meeting was called on the heels of the board being drastically reformed after the May 3 election. Two trustees — Israel Irrobali and Isabel Hernandez — were defeated for re-election. Trustees Leah Hanany and Jack Loveridge were both re-elected and installed as board president and vice president, respectively. Speaker after speaker defended Sayavedra and said that any decision to possibly fire her would have been unjustified and politically motivated. Some also warned that such a move would destabilize the district and force it to spend money on a buyout. The district is estimating that it is facing a $17 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. The board heard public comment, much of it an impassioned defense of Sayavedra. It then went into executive session. After nearly two hours in executive session, the board re-emerged and took public comment again at about 10 p.m. It also briefly discussed the status of the superintendent as a board. Speaker after speaker defended Sayavedra's performance and leadership as the district navigates a budget shortball. Trustee Daniel Call said that Hanany was leading the effort to oust Sayavedra 'not because of poor performance or scandal, but because she refused to bend the knee' to Hanany. Call also said that during the board's search for a superintendent Hanany advocated for a candidate who was a 'crony' and that is what she sought to do again if she was successful in ousting Sayavedra. Trustee Valerie Ganelon Beals said she had 28 letters from teachers and staff supporting Sayavedra. Hanany made a brief statement before adjourning the meeting without the board taking action. She accused Call of 'lying' and violating a non-disclosure agreement from the superintendent search. She said she would not violate the same agreement and said that made it impossible to defend herself. She then adjourned the meeting without the board taking action. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
El Paso ISD board reverses direction, won't close Lamar Elementary
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Lamar Elementary School is not going to close after all. The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 5-2 Tuesday night, May 20 to reverse its earlier decision to close Lamar Elementary. Back in November, a divided school board voted 4-3 to close eight schools over two years. Lamar was slated to be one of them. Since then, two of the trustees who voted in favor of closing schools were defeated for re-election — previous Board President Israel Irrobali and Isabel Hernandez. Now a new board — led by new Board President Leah Hanany and Board Vice President Jack Loveridge — put the measure back before the board to decide on whether to reverse its previous decision and spare Lamar from the chopping block. Trustees Daniel Call and Valerie Ganelon Beals voted against the move to reopen Lamar. Even after voting to close schools, EPISD was facing an estimated $17 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
