EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – El Paso County officials are celebrating a milestone when it comes to dealing with the years-long humanitarian migrant crisis. Their Migrant Support Services Center has now helped 100,000 asylum-seekers reach their destination of choice.  “This achievement underscores the critical role the center has played in the lives of tens of thousands, highlighting its pivotal position in the ongoing effort to humanely welcome and support those in desperate need,” the county said in a statement Wednesday. view article

Newly released documents detail shocking sexual harassment allegations involving former Humble ISD Athletic Director Troy Kite. The claims are part of a Title IX investigation conducted by an outside agency, which centered on allegations of a hostile and inappropriate work environment allegedly fostered by Kite. view article

The Texas Education Agency appointed two conservators on Thursday to manage the Socorro Independent School District after a state investigation exposed widespread failings for improperly graduating students, failing to disclose a trustee’s potential conflict of interest with a vendor, and paying $283,000 in unauthorized stipends. view article

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis responded on Inside Texas Politics after the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit to block the Harris County program.  Calling it “plainly unconstitutional,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County to block a guaranteed income program days before the payments were set to begin.  Around 1,900 families would receive $500 in cash payments a month, for 18 months. And there would be no strings attached, and no rules on how they spend that money. view article

Rice University is grappling with a “D” rating on the Anti-Defamation League’s antisemitism report card, which several rabbis have also flagged as sending an incomplete picture of Jewish life at the college. The ADL named the private institution alongside a couple dozen colleges and universities that have taken what the anti-hate organization considers a “deficient approach” to antisemitism. Speech issues remain contentious at Rice and campuses across the country as the Israel-Hamas war has spawned repeated student protests supporting the Palestinian people and calling for a cease-fire. view article

Citing a need to prioritize student success, the La Joya ISD School Board unanimously approved a new policy that prevents district employees in “supervisory positions” from holding elected office. The policy was approved during a Thursday night school board meeting without any discussion. La Joya ISD School Board President Julian Alvarez III said the new policy “speaks of the district’s commitment to creating the conditions necessary for all La Joya ISD students to succeed.” view article

El Paso Independent School District has selected Jack David Loveridge to fill the District 3 Trustee seat. The appointment came during a vote at a Board of Trustees meeting on April 11 at 5 p.m. The District 3 position was left vacant after previous Trustee Josh Acevedo ran for and was elected to City Council. On February 5, the Board voted to fill the vacancy and solicited applications. Jack David Loveridge, Jacob Aaron Waggoner, and Rene Alberto Vargas all applied. view article

The embattled speaker said he has “not wavered” on his support for placing Democrats in leadership positions during a recent interview.  A new television ad from Club for Growth Action targets House Speaker Dade Phelan’s appointment of liberal Democrats to leadership positions.  The 30-second spot, titled “Had a Choice,” highlights several of the Democrat chairs Phelan has appointed during his tenure as speaker of the House. view article

RICHARDSON, Texas — The University of Texas at Dallas is laying off about 20 employees and is closing a campus support center to comply with a state ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public universities. University President Richard Benson made the announcement Tuesday in an email to the campus community. view article

A vote from Spring ISD’s board of trustees to cut district administrator’s salaries by 2% failed April 4 as the district faces an estimated $25 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2024-25. The proposal to reduce the salaries of 64 administrator positions for a total budget savings of $164,349 was favored by Secretary Kelly P. Hodges and voted down by Vice President Winford Adams Jr. and trustees Deborah Jensen and Carmen Correa. President Justine Durant and trustee Natasha McDaniel abstained from voting, and Assistant Secretary Rhonda Newhouse was absent from the meeting. view article

Abilene ISD is getting rid of its unused properties. Fannin Elementary School on North 18th Street will be the first to go. The City of Abilene owns the land behind the building, but AISD owns the actual building. view article

The Lubbock ISD council of PTAs hosted a meet and greet Monday night for parents and teachers to mingle with current and potential candidates for the district’s school board of trustees. President of the council, Katy Townley, helped organize the event and said they wanted to offer the opportunity for candidates and the community to meet. view article

Humble Independent School District Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen kept her job Tuesday, avoiding a potential school board vote on her employment status amid an investigation into her husband, who recently retired from his position as the district’s athletics and fine arts executive director. view article

The Texas Education Agency, under Republican control, took over the entire Houston Independent School district last year because one high school—with disproportionate numbers of at-risk students—had low test scores for several years in a row. Even though that school, Wheatley High School, was showing marked signs of progress, State Commissioner Mike Morath, fired the elected school board and hired Mike Miles as superintendent with expansive powers and selected a hand-picked “board of managers.” view article

Early in the 2023 legislative session, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan vowed to present “a very innovative solution” to combat the surge in migrants attempting to enter Texas from Mexico — one that would test the limits of states’ roles in immigration enforcement. The proposal Phelan teased, known as House Bill 20, sought to create a team of police and deputized citizens to patrol the southern border. The legislation, which critics said would empower “vigilantes” and endanger the lives of asylum seekers and Hispanic Texans, died when Democrats killed it with a procedural tactic. And despite Republicans’ best efforts to revive a version of the measure, it never made it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk before the regular session ended. view article

Both candidates running for Place 2 on the Mansfield ISD school board will appear on the May 4 ballot, even after challenges from residents who claim the two are ineligible. UT Arlington professor Jandel Crutchfield and Tarrant County College professor Angel Hidalgo are running to replace incumbent Desiree Thomas, who initially filed to seek another term but later withdrew from the race. Last Mansfield ISD confirmed the board was reviewing "several complaints" about Hidalgo's eligibility after records showed he was not a registered voter in Tarrant County when he filed to run. view article

A grand jury indicted the principals for allegedly using their school emails to encourage staff to vote for certain candidates in the March primary.  Two public school principals in North Texas have been indicted for allegedly using their school email accounts to urge staff to vote for certain political candidates in the March Republican primary election.  The two Denton principals, who are married, are accused of violating state election law and could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000 if convicted of the misdemeanor charges, which a Denton County grand jury handed down on Tuesday.  Lindsay Luján, Denton Independent School District’s director of special programs and principal of Alexander Elementary School, allegedly sent an email to school staff on Feb. 5 encouraging them to vote for Republicans who oppose school voucher programs, which would divert money away from public schools and give families taxpayer dollars to pay for their children’s private schooling. The email, a copy of which is included in court documents, includes a link to a scorecard detailing each candidate’s position on public school funding. view article

Some residents in Mansfield ISD are asking the board to review a trustee candidate’s eligibility after records showed he wasn’t registered to vote when he filed to run. County records show Place 2 candidate Angel Hidalgo, a Spanish instructor at Tarrant County College, registered to vote in Tarrant County on Feb. 25, a week after the filing deadline. Under state law, candidates must be registered voters in the territory where they are running. view article

Facing a $40 million budget shortfall, decreasing enrollment and low student performance, Fort Worth ISD declared last week its intention to close a second school beginning in the 2024-25 school year. During a March 26 board meeting, Fort Worth ISD trustees approved a contract to relocate students from Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade to Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Middle School for the 2024-25 school year, effectively closing Forest Oak Sixth Grade’s campus. view article

Thursday, in a unanimous vote, the Lubbock ISD school board approved a resolution donating the Guadalupe Elementary School building to the Diocese of Lubbock and Jackson Elementary School building to Tomorrow’s Leaders. Guadalupe and Jackson were part of the consolidation of three schools into the new Anita Carmona-Harrison Elementary School, part of the 2018 bond initiative. view article

Socorro Superintendent Nate Carman took several steps shortly after arriving in the district in 2022 that led to the award of contracts to a company he had previously done business with in South Texas, an external auditor hired by the district told the school board Monday. After a presentation from the auditor and a lengthy closed-door discussion, the board voted 6-0 to place Carman on administrative leave with pay. Board Chair Michael Najera abstained from the vote without explanation. view article

On Wednesday night, Ector County ISD looked to make tough decisions after Tuesday night's board meeting discussion on the school district's budget. According to ECISD, the district faces a $24 million budget deficit for its 2024-25 school year. This comes on the heels of the Texas Legislative session where lawmakers did not increase funds for public schools. view article

It was a packed house at the Morton ISD school board meeting on Wednesday as trustees discussed the status of Head Basketball Coach Zack Williams. But after several hours, the board decided to table the decision. Several people reached out to KCBD after hearing rumors the school board would be making a change to Coach Williams’ position, possibly moving him to assistant coach. view article

Some residents in Mansfield ISD are asking the board to review a trustee candidate’s eligibility after records showed he wasn’t registered to vote when he filed to run. County records show Place 2 candidate Angel Hidalgo, a Spanish instructor at Tarrant County College, registered to vote in Tarrant County on Feb. 25, a week after the filing deadline. Under state law, candidates must be registered voters in the territory where they are running. view article

Arlington ISD is preparing for the area to reach its full capacity of homes. The district’s board of trustees unanimously approved, 7-0, a $5.6 million sale of a 15-acre property in Grand Prairie at its March 21 board meeting. The property was intended for a new elementary school, but the district decided against it as residential development in the area has slowed, according to the district’s document. view article

Three generations of Pearl West’s family attended Esparza Elementary School in the Northside Independent School District, where she has spent the last seven years as a manager in the Child Nutrition Department. Two weeks ago, she resigned from her position. view article

During its March 18 meeting, the Canyon Independent School Board unanimously approved going to an appointment process to fill its Place 4 Trustee position vacated by Bill Jenkins at the December meeting. Following Jenkins's resignation, the school board was pressed to find a way to fill the position. Due to the financial and legal constraints of holding an off-year election, they were unable to place it on the recent primary ballots. Canyon ISD could have held its own election, but it would have been rather costly since it would have to do it on its own. view article

Crowley ISD trustee Mia Hall faces accusations of misusing public funds and school district resources for political campaigning. In a filing with the Texas Ethics Commission, Melondy Doddy-Muñoz, who is running against Hall for her seat, formally announced March 20 an ethics charge against Hall. view article

A steady stream of speakers addressed the Fort Bend ISD board of trustees at its regular meeting Monday demanding that the district remove several books from district libraries that they said are pornographic in nature, reading excerpted long passages that contained explicit descriptions of sexual situations. view article

Former Superintendent Duncan Klussmann’s name will remain on the Spring Branch Educational Center, the board voted unanimously Monday, after hearing copious community feedback against their proposal to remove his name from the building. More than 40 people spoke at the public hearing asking the board not to remove the name of the now University of Houston assistant professor, many of whom wore red or pink in solidarity. Before the meeting, a petition to keep his name on the building was submitted to the board with over 600 signatures. view article

The Socorro Independent School District violated the Texas Education Code by graduating students who did not meet requirements, failing to disclose Trustee Paul Guerra’s connections to a vendor used by the district, and paying $283,000 in unauthorized stipends, according to a report released Friday by the Texas Education Agency. view article

As RISD faces a $28 million deficit, district leaders say Project Rightsize would reduce spending by nearly $10.8 million. During Thursday's School Board Meeting, the Richardson Independent School District voted unanimously on a proposal to close four elementary schools and a Pre-K campus to respond to a decline in enrollment and lack of state funding. view article

Richardson ISD board members voted to approve its plan to close four elementary school campuses and repurpose one pre-kindergarten campus on Thursday night District staff say they’re in a big budget deficit, that the district has lost more than 2,500 students since 2019 and hasn’t received more state funding per student since before COVID-19 despite inflation. view article

The proposal would change the language in the city charter from “citizen” to “residents” or “people.” With more illegal aliens living among U.S. residents, a new filing by a member of the Dallas Charter Review Commission would amend the Dallas city charter to allow non-U.S. citizens to be appointed and serve on all city boards, commissions, and task forces. The amendment would change the language in each section of the city charter relating to the eligibility for people to serve on the boards. It would change the word “citizen” to “residents,” “people,” or “persons.” Stuart Campbell, the commission member representing District 7, proposed the amendment. view article

I am writing to express my continued support for the incumbent members of the Marinette School District Board of Education, namely Judy Grace, Rose O'Hara, Cindy Verschay and Jamie Richardson. While I endorsed last year’s incumbents, my support is not merely automatic; rather, it stems from ongoing engagement, observation and reflection. These individuals have consistently demonstrated dedication and service to the Marinette community, striving tirelessly to improve our schools and ensure every student receives the resources and support necessary for success. Their commitment to excellence has been evident in the positive changes witnessed within our district. view article