Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Shapleigh Leads Town Hall Meeting for EPISD Reform

Probably all Newmanistas - parents, grandparents, or not - have been following the sickening stories of scandal, corruption and incompetence in the El Paso Independent School District. The El Paso Times has a virtual library of articles about the district.


In a letter dated May 18, 2010, then Senator Eliot Shapleigh wrote a letter to now disgraced Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia outlining corruption in the district:
Letter to Garcia



Now the former Senator is leading an effort to reform the school district through a series of town hall meetings. Here is an email that he recently sent out to a number of El Pasoans:

Dear Fellow Paseños—
Your former state senator Eliot Shapleigh here. Hope your 4th of July was spectacular. What I want to visit with you about is our children.

When I read the Times every day, I just get upset. Can you imagine teaching a town to cheat not compete, disappearing thousands of students on TAKS week, then claiming a bonus to boot?
Forget jobs and new projects—if we can’t take care of our kids and get them a good education to guarantee a good job then we can’t expect jobs, companies, pediatric surgeons or even our own children to come here at all.

Like you, Joyce and I are proud parents of EPISD grads. Like you, we have dozens of EPISD friends—teachers, principals, parents and most of all students-- all of whom deserve thanks for the jobs they do.
But sooner, not later—we all have a job to do. We have to stop the corruption, kick out the culprits and restore great education to a great district.

Join me at EPCC, Valle Verde, Cafeteria Annex on Wednesday, July 11th at 5.30pm. Let’s dig into the facts, roll up our sleeves and start now to build back that District. Please, send this email to ten of your friends—don’t wait. Do it now. And on July 11th, give each a call to get them there. Better schools start today.

For all of us, for all our children and grandchildren, it’s worth the fight!
Eliot Shapleigh, Proud Paseño  


The first Town Hall Meeting (How a Superintendent "Disappeared" Students to Increase TAKS Scores and Claim a Bonus Too") will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, July 11th, at 5:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria Annex on the Valle Verde Campus of EPCC. 

Map to campus
The Cafeteria Annex is in the basement of Building C.



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