The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board Members and Superintendent, accompanied by Rolando Salinas who has just been named new Director of

Jose G. Landa

Staff Writer

The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees held a meeting on Tuesday, November 14 in which they received a presentation form Architect Davis Powell on the Eagle Pass Band Hall Expansion Project.

Jose G. Landa

Staff writer

  Former Maverick County Judge and current Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustee Rudy Bowles has thrown his name into the race for the position of Maverick County Judge, currently held by Judge David R. Saucedo.

Staff Reports

The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Directors recognized all of their principals during their board meeting held on Tuesday October 10.

Jaclyn Guzmán

Staff writer

 The Eagle Pass Independent Board of Trustees held a special meeting Monday and Tuesday as part of the district-wide tour to gather information on how extra funding to come from the recently approved tax rate should be dispersed.

Staff reports

  The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees held a public meeting on the new proposed Ad Valorem Tax of 2.5 cents per every $100 of valuation on Friday, April 7, at 12:00 pm at the EPISD Service Center Board Room in which they moved to approve the new tax rate, triggering the rollback rate election to be held on May 27.

The Eagle Pass Independent School Board of Trustees held their meeting on Tuesday, February 14 in which they recognized students, teachers and campuses for their accomplishments and achievements under the citizens recognition and communication portion of the meeting.

Jaclyn Guzmán

Staff Writer

  There are now four people running for position 1 on the EPISD school board

 The newest applicant is Ricardo “Riche” Lopez, a former educator certified in bilingual education who taught for approximately 23 years at several elementary  high schools at Laredo United Independent School District as well as EPISD. Lopez was previously a member of the EPISD board in the 1970’s, filling in when another member couldn’t complete his term.

  “I’m a long term educator with continued interest in education and I’d like to be of service,” said Lopez, who was born and raised in Eagle Pass. 

  Others include Juan Jose “Pachi” Olivares, Ronnie Rivera, and Jorge Barrera.

  Registered for Position 2 is Ignacio “Nacho” Saucedo, for Position 6 Hector Alvarez, and for Position 7 Glenna Purcell.

  Applications are currently still being accepted.

  Those who wish to register for a position on the school board can do so until Monday August 22 at 5:00 p.m. Interested persons can stop by the  during there regular hours from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or call Susana Perez at 830-773-5181 ext 1046.

Cuatro personas para la posición #1 del Distrito Escolar

  El solicitante más reciente es Ricardo "Riche" López, ex educador certificado en la educación bilingüe que enseñó durante aproximadamente 23 años en varias escuelas primarias  el  Laredo United Independent School District, así como EPISD. López fue anteriormente miembro de la junta EPISD en la década de 1970, tomando el lugar cuando otro miembro no pudo teminar su  periodo

  Soy un educador de largo plazo con el continuo interés en la educación y me gustaría estar de servicio", dijo López, que nació y se crió en Eagle Pass.

   Otros que se registraron son: Juan José "Pachi" Olivares, Ronnie Rivera y Jorge Barrera.

  Registrado en la posición #2 es Ignacio "Nacho" Saucedo, por Posición 6 Hector Alvarez, y para la posición 7 Glenna Purcell.

  Se aceptan aplicaciones.

 Aquellos que deseen inscribirse en una posición en la junta escolar, pueden hacerlo hasta el lunes 22 de agosto a las 5:00 pm Las personas interesadas pueden pasar por la allí durante horas regulares 08 a.m.-12:00p.m. y 1:00 pm a 5:00 pm de lunes a viernes, o llame a Susana Pérez en 830-773-5181 ext 1046.

Three of the four Eagle Pass Independent School Board Trustees whose terms have ended have registered for reelection.

Board President Lupita Fuentes and Vice President Hilda Martinez were present at the registration to show their support for Dr.Hector Alvarez, Glenna Purcell, and Ignacio Saucedo.

Alvarez, who formally put in his name for board position 6, said he was excited to run for reelection for the chance to continue to better the school district.

“One of the main reasons I am here is that there have been a lot of things done, and yet still more to be done,” said Alvarez. “I think it’s my responsibility to try to get it done for our kids, for the community, and for the teachers. 

Alvarez was honored to have Fuentes and Martinez there.

“It means the world to me because as a professional, when you have the support of your peers, it’s the ultimate support because they know what you’ve done and they know what you want to do,” said Alvarez. “Having their support has been truly instrumental in my returning back for another 4 years.”

Purcell also appreciated Fuentes’ and Martinez’s presence. 

“It means a lot because they are our peers they know what goes on in the meetings and where our hearts are,” said Purcell. “They are supporting us because they want to keep the team together.” 

Purcell said the reason she chose to run for school board trustee again was because, like Alvarez, she felt a responsibility to do the best for the students. 

“I still have seven grandchildren that are going to be in public school, so I want to stay around and make sure things are getting better so that as they go through our system they get the best education they can,” said Purcell. “I am happy with our board and that we work together well. We don’t always agree, but we discuss and are amicable and work the betterment of our students.”

Saucedo, who has been on the board since November 2010, also wants to see the board continue improvements they have made in the community.  

“I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve been able to move this board forward from where it was in 2010. Despite budgetary issues we’ve had where we had a cut back in the state budget, I’m very proud of the fact that we never had to lay anybody off at that particular time,” said Saucedo.  “[We went] from a reduction enforced the way you saw in other districts, to fast forward the past three years where we’ve been able to increase our teachers’ pay by nearly 10 percent.”

The board’s efforts were seen in classrooms as well, said Saucedo.

“ You see progress in the students, you see progress when it comes to state wide scores, comparable at the state level or better than the state level, and when you look at comparability between us and other districts with similar demographics you’re seeing vast improvement with limited resources we have,” said Saucedo. “I appreciate the fact that this is a progressive board, I think we can always be more efficient, there’s always room for more efficiency on whatever level it is.”

Board Trustee Humberto Torralba is currently discussing whether or not to run for reelection with his family, and will make his decision later this week.

Junta escolar abre inscripciones 

Se inscriben para su reelección tres de los cuatro miembros de la mesa directiva del  EPISD.

Presidente de la Junta Lupita Fuentes y vicepresidente Hilda Martínez estuvieron presentes en el registro para mostrar su apoyo a Dr. Hector Alvarez, Glenna Purcell, e Ignacio Saucedo.

Alvarez, que formalmente registro su nombre a posición 6, dijo que estaba emocionado a la reelección por la oportunidad de continuar para mejorar el distrito escolar.

"Una de las principales razones por las que estoy aquí es que ha habido muchas cosas, y sin embargo todavía  faltan más por hacer", dijo Alvarez. "Creo que es mi responsabilidad para tratar de lograr que se haga para nuestros hijos, para la comunidad, y para los profesores.

Alvarez dijo que era un honor que  Fuentes y Martínez  estuvieran allí.

"Significa mucho para mí porque como profesional, cuando se tiene el apoyo de sus compañeros, es el mejor apoyo, porque saben lo que has hecho y que sabe lo que quieres hacer", dijo Alvarez. "Contar con su apoyo ha sido verdaderamente fundamental en mi regresar de nuevo por otros 4 años."

Purcell también aprecia la presencia de Fuentes y Martínez 

"Significa mucho porque son nuestros compañeros que saben lo que pasa en las reuniones y donde están  nuestros corazones ", dijo Purcell. "Ellos nos están apoyando porque quieren mantener el equipo en conjunto."

Purcell dijo que la razón por la que optó por su reeleccion a la junta escolar fue porque, como Alvarez, sintió la responsabilidad de hacer lo mejor para los estudiantes.

"Todavía tengo siete nietos que van a estar en la escuela pública, por lo que quiero permanecer cerca y asegurarse que las cosas están mejorando de manera que a medida que avanzan a través de nuestro sistema que ellos reciban la mejor educación que pueden", dijo Purcell. "Estoy contenta con nuestra  mesa directiva y que trabajamos bien. No siempre estamos de acuerdo, pero se discute y son amigables y se trabaja  para  hacer lo mejora de nuestros estudiantes ".

Saucedo, quien ha estado en la directiva desde noviembre de 2010, también quiere ver  y continuar las mejoras que han hecho en la comunidad.

"Estoy muy orgulloso del hecho de que hemos sido capaces de mover este tablero hacia adelante de donde estaba en 2010.  A pesar de los problemas presupuestarios que hemos tenido donde tuvimos un corte en el presupuesto del Estado, estoy muy orgulloso del hecho de que nunca hemos tenido que despedir a nadie fuera en ese momento ", dijo Saucedo. "Tuvimos una reducción forzada de la manera que se vio en otros distritos, para avanzar rápidamente en los últimos tres años en los que hemos sido capaces de aumentar el sueldo de nuestros maestros en casi un 10 por ciento."

Se observaron los esfuerzos de la directiva en las aulas también, dijo Saucedo.

"Usted ve el progreso en los estudiantes, se ve el progreso a la hora de indicar las puntuaciones, comparables a nivel estatal o mejores que el nivel del estado, y cuando nos fijamos en la comparabilidad entre nosotros y otros distritos con características demográficas similares que estamos viendo mejoras con recursos limitados ", dijo Saucedo. "" Aprecio el hecho de que esta es una directiva progresiva, creo que siempre se puede ser más eficiente, siempre hay espacio para una mayor eficiencia en el  nivel que sea."

Miembro de la directiva  Humberto Torralba está discutiendo junto con su familia si   buscará su relección o no, y lo dará a saber mas adelante.

Staff Reports

Eagle Pass Independent School District Accounting Director, Susana Perez informed us of the open registration period for the up-coming school board elections.