May 16, 2025
Just a week after newly elected El Paso Independent School District trustees were sworn in, they may reverse the previous board’s decision to close one of eight elementary schools set to shutter its doors in the next two years.
The EPISD school board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday to vote whether to keep Lamar Elementary School open.
“The reconsideration of closing Lamar Elementary reflects the responsibility this new board has to make decisions that align with academic outcomes, equity and community trust,” board President Leah Hanany told El Paso Matters on Friday. “Lamar is an A-rated, two-time National Blue Ribbon School serving a majority socioeconomically disadvantaged population, and scored in the top 1% nationally on a survey measuring student belonging.”
The scheduled vote comes after a major shift in the board’s power dynamics when four aligned school board candidates won their respective elections May 3 and ousted former trustees Israel Irrobali and Isabel Hernandez, who voted in favor of the closures.
Hanany has been critical of the metrics used to decide what schools were recommended for closure to address declining enrollment by closing schools and improving the ones that remain open — an initiative known as Destination District Redesign.
The plan was put forward by Superintendent Diana Sayavedra and her administration, and approved in November 2024 on a 4-3 vote. Only two trustees who supported the plan remain on the board – Daniel Call and Valerie Ganelon Beals.
Beals expressed criticism at the idea of reversing the planned closure of just one school in Hanany’s feeder pattern.
“Our staff, central office, put in so much work into DDR, that just for it to be reversed for one school,” Beals told El Paso Matters Friday. “I feel like it would be a big slap in the face to do that. I feel like some of the trustees on the school board are using their position to please their constituents, not caring about how to leave the district once their term is up, because it’s just a political stepping stone for them.”
Call could not be reached for comment.
Hanany said close to 180 elementary school-age students live within a half-mile of Lamar Elementary, while other campuses that were set to remain open had less than a few dozen.
“Voters gave this board a mandate to shift away from top-down decision-making and focus on students,” Hanany said.” I would say, especially in times of fiscal constraint, we have to be even more strategic. And by placing Lamar back on the agenda, I think it’s signaling that this board is willing to revisit harmful decisions and refocus our priorities where they belong.”
If the board votes to reverse the closure, it will need to consider the costs of operating the school and potential increases in public school funding as it prepares its budget for the coming school year.
Without any changes to the school closure plan or school funding, EPISD expects to have a $17 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
Hanany said she is not aware of any plans to close another school in place of Lamar Elementary and that the board “will be revisiting every available resource to ensure that we remain committed to being fiscally responsible.”