EPISD superintendent skips pay raise in ‘favorable’ evaluation, UTEP enrollment climbs, other El Paso news EPISD superintendent forgoes pay increase, UTEP sets enrollment record

This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.

EPISD Evaluates Superintendent, Forgoes Pay Raise

The El Paso Independent School District on Tuesday unanimously approved Superintendent Diana Sayavedra's annual performance evaluation, which was discussed behind closed doors during executive session.

Before the evaluation, Sayavedra said she would forgo a salary increase after district employees did not receive raises for the 2024-25 school year .

"In solidarity with teachers, I think it's the right thing to do," she said.

Though the board did not discuss the outcome of the evaluation, a news release stated she had a favorable assessment.

How EPISD will decide which elementary schools to close, consolidate

In late January, the board extended Sayavedra's contract until January 2029. Her contract was initially set to run until January 2025 when she was first hired in 2021. Though she did not get a pay raise when her contract was extended, the board at the time approved a $20,000 payment toward her retirement account.

Sayavedra is paid $320,000 a year under an amended contract that gave her a $43,000 pay raise in January 2023.

UTEP, EPCC See Slight Enrollment Increases

The University of Texas at El Paso set a new record for a third consecutive year for the number of new freshmen or first-time-in-college students. UTEP announced last week that it had registered 3,918 freshmen, which is 2.2% more than last year.

Additionally, the institution reported an overall enrollment of 25,039 students for the fall 2024 semester. That is a 2.8% bump from fall 2023, and the first time since the pandemic that the university's enrollment had exceeded 25,000 students. The last time was 2019 when UTEP registered 25,177 students.

The institution also mentioned that it enrolled a record number of students in its College of Engineering. The 5,064 students marked the first time the college had registered more than 5,000 students. UTEP also reported a record number of doctoral students – 918.

EPCC announced that it registered 25,013 students for the fall semester. That is a 2% bump from fall 2023. Keri Moe, associate vice president of External Relations, Communication and Development, said the college is pleased that students continue to pursue the degrees and credentials that will prepare them for future careers.

The fall 2024 semester for both institutions started Aug. 26.

Texas Tech Health El Paso has varied starts for its schools of nursing, medicine, dental medicine and biomedical sciences that range from late August to early September. A spokesman said that TTHEP's Census Day is Oct. 15.

County Commissioners Adopt Budget without Pay Raises

The El Paso County Commissioners Court adopted its $584 million budget Sept. 16 for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The general fund budget is $467 million. Most county employees and elected officials , with the exception of sheriff's deputies, other uniformed officers, deputy constables and sergeant deputy constables, will not get pay raises under the adopted budget.

The total adopted budget represents a 3% increase over last year's budget of $602 million; while the general fund budget increased 2% over last year.

The county in August adopted the no-new-revenue rate of 42.6 cents per $100 valuation. The rate means most taxpayers will see an annual increase of just under a $1 on an average-value home of about $200,000 on the county's portion of the property tax bills. The impact on individual homeowners will depend on the value of their homes. Some homeowners may see a decrease in their county taxes.

County Approves Civil Penalty for Child Custody Interference

The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday approved an order that imposes a civil penalty for interference with child custody orders punishable with a fine of up to $500.

The order allows the family courts to impose a punishment other than incarceration or community supervision for those who don't comply with a child custody order, including withholding a child from another parent. The El Paso County Domestic Relations Office could request the family courts impose the fine.

During its 88th session, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 969, which allowed counties to adopt such a penalty.

American Canal Allocated $90 Million Federal Funds for Rehab

The American Canal that runs along Paisano Drive is set for a makeover after the federal government allocated $90 million to rehabilitate the waterway, which delivers water into El Paso from the Rio Grande for households and farmers here.

The project is headed by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which manages water treaties and deliveries between the United States and Mexico. The project is the third phase of a rehab for the canal, which delivers irrigation water for over 58,100 acres of farmland in the El Paso area.

The canal when officials announced the project Sept. 13 had a strong flow and was contributing around 90% of the potable water used in El Paso, said John Balliew, CEO of El Paso Water. But flows in the canal drop off quickly around October, when the release of water from Elephant Butte ends.

Since 2020, the river has supplied anywhere from 14% to 38% of El Paso's water supply.

Over a full year, the canal can deliver as much as 70,000 acre-feet of water to El Paso for potable use. But in reality, drought has dwindled the amount that El Paso Water is actually able to draw from the river and send to homes and businesses. In 2023, El Paso Water sent just over 39,000 acre-feet of water from the canal to its customers; the year before that, the utility used about 20,300 acre-feet of river water. An acre-foot is equivalent to about 326,000 gallons of water.

The canal's rehab will include removing sediment, re-doing the concrete banks of the canal and covering the open waterway to reduce evaporation and prevent people from falling into the canal.

"The concrete doesn't last forever. It was collapsing. We were getting gaps. And so, when you have that type of faulty infrastructure, water runs down and you get leaks. And it doesn't run as fast, so you get evaporation," said Maria Elena Giner, U.S. commissioner for the IBWC. "Here in the desert, we value every drop of water. And, so, that's why rehabilitating the American Canal is really essential."