El Paso ISD leaders urge trustees to declare financial exigency as $42 million shortfall looms

El Paso Independent School District officials told the board of trustees on June 2 that the district faces a multi‑year budget challenge and urged trustees to consider declaring financial exigency to begin reductions in force.

"These actions are necessary to address a projected... $42 million budget shortfall next year if no action is taken," Superintendent Dr. Lusk said, outlining steps the administration is proposing to close the gap. He told trustees the district had already eliminated more than 200 central‑office positions and characterized the shortfall as the result of years of budget practices and post‑pandemic funding shifts.

At a slide presentation, finance staff detailed prior and near‑term savings, saying the district had reduced roughly 597 positions to date and that central office reductions accounted for about 209 of those closures. Finance presenter Mr. Bates said the administration plans to present a fuller numeric breakdown and said he expects to return to the board in October to ask the board to terminate the exigency if targets are met.

Board legal counsel advised trustees to meet in closed session for legal advice on how to proceed. "If the board would like legal advice with regards to this, I suggest that we go into closed session... pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.071," counsel said, noting that the closed session would focus on process, not specific employment areas.

Why it matters: declaring financial exigency would allow the district to implement formal reduction‑in‑force procedures and separate some at‑will employees; union leaders and campus advocates warned the cuts will fall hardest on students and campus staff. Dr. Lusk and finance staff framed exigency as a difficult but necessary step to avoid a larger structural deficit.

What happens next: trustees did not take final action during the June 2 meeting and moved into closed session. The board scheduled continued discussion and possible action for 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, when detailed personnel and budget materials will be available for additional questioning and public comment.