Ysleta ISD board backs funding resolution, property sale and other measures in unanimous votes

The Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees on April 16, 2025, approved a series of formal actions: a board resolution urging the Texas Legislature to increase public school funding and oppose education savings accounts/vouchers; authorization to sell a portion of district property near Cadwalder (TLCC campus) to the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board; a letter nominating Superintendent Dr. Dela Torre for the 2025 Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Superintendent of the Year; approval of consent and policy agenda items; and approval of the district-wide intruder detection audit report findings after a closed session. Most votes on these items were unanimous (5–0).

The actions matter because they signal the board’s formal policy position on state school finance and vouchers, transfer a parcel of district land to a public utility, recognize district leadership, and accept a district safety audit — each carrying financial, operational or public-accountability implications.

Public comment ahead of the vote included remarks from Jeff Senor, representing the Ysleta Teachers Association, who urged the district to oppose vouchers and to press for full funding. "Any increase in funding is welcomed, but let's be honest, when private and charter schools are being handed $10,000 per student in taxpayer money, voucher money, with no accountability, no transparency, no strings attached ... the increase to the student allotment of a few hundred dollars ... feels less like progress and more like a slap in the face," Senor said.

Board member Chris Hernandez read and moved the resolution supporting increased basic allotment funding and opposing diversion of public funds to private school vouchers and education savings accounts. The resolution cites the Texas Constitution, Article VII, Section 1, and noted Ysleta ISD serves approximately 33,920 students with about 5,498 staff. Hernandez said the resolution was "dear to my heart" and moved its approval; the motion passed 5–0 (moved by Hernandez; second by Mike Dwyer).

Other formal votes recorded in the meeting record:

- Consent agenda (minutes from March 19, monthly financial statements and bond projects report, instructional material allotment, contract with Communities in Schools of El Paso, and other listed items): moved by Trustee Connie Woodruff and seconded by Trustee Catherine Lucero; approved 5–0.

- Policy agenda items (multiple local policy updates listed on the agenda): approved 5–0.

- Nomination of Dr. Dela Torre for TASB 2025 Superintendent of the Year: moved by Chris Hernandez, seconded by Connie Woodruff; approved 5–0. Board members praised Dr. Dela Torre’s leadership during remarks accompanying the nomination.

- Authorization to sell a portion of YISD property near Cadwalder (TLCC campus) to the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board and delegate execution authority to the superintendent or designee subject to in‑house counsel review: motion moved by Mike Dwyer, seconded by Connie Woodruff; approved 5–0.

- Approval of district-wide intruder detection audit report findings (action taken after closed session): motion by Connie Woodruff, second by Chris Hernandez; approved 5–0.

No additional conditions were specified in the public motions for the resolution, nomination, property sale or audit approval beyond the normal requirements (delegation to superintendent for contract execution subject to legal review for the property sale; audit findings addressed in closed session before approval). The board scheduled May budget workshops and emphasized that some financial decisions (for example, how to allocate any new state revenue) will be considered during those sessions.

The board then recessed into a closed session and later reconvened to approve the intruder detection audit report findings before adjourning.