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EPISD audit flags attendance shortfalls tied to millions in lost state funding
Summary
The internal audit office reported high unexcused-absence counts at tested high schools and districtwide, estimating that each percentage point of attendance equals roughly $3 million and urging targeted interventions and an attendance campaign.
Internal auditors told the El Paso ISD audit committee that attendance and truancy remain a significant concern and that coding, documentation and campus-level monitoring gaps could be causing both missed interventions and funding losses.
"For the 7 campuses that we tested, they had a combined, number of unexcused absences, just a little over 161,000, which translates into approximately 9,800,000.0 in state funding," Myra Martinez said. Martinez also cited districtwide PEIMS data showing about 426,000 unexcused absences.
Interim Superintendent Martha Guerra and Martinez discussed an attendance campaign to improve student attendance and parental reporting. Guerra told trustees, "every percentage is approximately $3,000,000 in revenue," linking attendance percentages directly to state funding calculations.
Martinez said audit follow-ups and corrective-action plans are already in place at tested campuses; she reported improvements in attendance coding and documentation but said finding and addressing reasons for unexcused absences remains a priority.
Trustees asked whether corrective actions have reduced absences. Martinez said some campuses show progress while others still incur high truancy rates; the audit office will continue CAP follow-ups and report back to the committee.
The committee discussed presenting an attendance campaign to the board and coordinating budgeting and outreach efforts for the coming school year.
