Eagle Pass ISD to Open August 31 with Option of In-Person or Online Instruction
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
After receiving confusing and inconsistent directions from Texas leaders, the Eagle Pass Independent School District (EPISD) was placed in a dilemma on when and how to open the public schools in Eagle Pass, forcing the local school district to have to change its previous announcement of starting with online instruction on August 31, 2020 to now offering parents the option to enroll their children in either in-person or online instruction.
On July 20, the Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees approved to extend the opening day of the 2020-2021 school year from August 17 to August 31 with online instruction instead of in-person instruction as a result of the surging COVID-19 pandemic. EPISD followed the example of larger metropolitan Texas school districts in obtaining an Order from their Local Health Authority requesting them to open after August 17 and with online instruction for the first eight weeks of the school year. Locally, EPISD Board of Trustees Jorge Barrera and Hilda Martinez together with Superintendent Samuel Mijares met with Local Health Authority Dr. Victoriano Valdez and County Judge David R. Saucedo and Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes to adopt the same procedures as the larger metropolitan school districts in Texas.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath acquiesced with the idea of Local Health Authorities authorizing public school districts to open up to eight weeks later after August 17 and with online instruction without losing state funding due to the rampant surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas. Many Texas public school districts followed suit in collaborating with their Local Health Authority, including EPISD.
However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a Letter of Guidance on July 28, 2020 stating that Local Health Authorities could not order public or private schools from closing indiscriminately as they are not authorized by law. Rather, Paxton opines that the decision to close schools is the responsibility of the school board, not the Local Health Authorities.
Consequently, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath reversed his earlier decision to allow Local Health Authorities’ orders to close down public or private schools to extend the opening of school and going online instruction as a result of Attorney General Paxton’s July 26 Guidance Letter, causing total chaos and confusion among Texas school districts and Superintendents. Morath reversed his position that school districts would not lose state funding to now stating they might lose state funding. Since all school districts rely on state funding to operate their annual fiscal budgets, they are not willing to do anything contrary to lose their funding. This controversy has caused some school districts to reverse their previous decisions and others have decided to continue with their delay school opening dates and online instruction while suing the state of Texas for its inconsistent policies.
EPISD has chosen to proceed with its August 31 school opening day and offer the parents of each school children an option to select either in-person instruction or online instruction in order to remain in compliance with TEA state funding mandates. EPISD Superintendent Samuel Mijares noted that EPISD could not afford to lose state funding as it would be unable to make up any loss revenues to operate.
At a press conference held on Thursday, July 30, 2020, EPISD Board President Jorge Barrera stated that the EPISD plan to offer parents the option to select in-person or online instruction will comply with TEA state funding mandates and not risk losing any state funds. Superintendent Mijares added that the EPISD’s decision offers parents the choice to select the method of instruction for their children during the COVID-19 pandemic while complying with TEA state funding policies. Mijares noted that this current policy remains flexible and fluid subject to what may happen with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the community and in the state of Texas.
Texans have not been served well by their current state leaders in Austin, Texas as they continue to politicize the COVID-19 pandemic and make inconsistent and contradictory decisions and policies. It is quite clear that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing and vice-versa. As of press time, Governor Greg Abbott has not made a decision himself on this salient public policy issue concerning whether public school districts would lose state funding if they open up to eight weeks later and go strictly online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the EPISD has chosen to comply with state funding mandates while keeping the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff the top priority.
