Parents urge Eagle Pass ISD to overhaul safety communications after reported threat at Armando Serna

Luis Aranda, a father of three students at Armando Serna Elementary, told the Eagle Pass ISD Board of Trustees on Oct. 13 that a firearm-related threat reported Sept. 22 was not communicated to families or local law enforcement until the next morning.

"The first official district notification to parents wasn't sent until 10:20AM the next day, nearly a full day after the initial threat," Aranda said, describing confusion, rumors and a scramble for answers. He said he filed a public-information request Sept. 26 and received a legal response from the district's counsel, Escamilla and Panik, citing exemptions under the Texas Government Code; the matter, he said, is pending review by the attorney general's office.

Clelia Valdez, a parent and community leader, told trustees threats in recent weeks have left families and staff fearful and criticized what she called "silence, vague statements and delayed responses." Valdez urged three immediate steps: establish a real-time communication protocol, hold a public review of safety procedures and commit to accountability when mistakes are made. "Parents should not have to rely on rumors or social media to learn whether their children are safe," she said.

Elias Diaz, identified in the record as a city councilman and a licensed mental-health professional, said the district is in "a moment of crisis" and urged the board to treat mental health as core infrastructure — calling for full-time licensed mental-health professionals on every campus, mandatory trauma-informed training for staff and integrated social-emotional learning.

Board members did not provide an extended on-the-record response to the speakers' requests during the citizens-communications portion recorded in the transcript; trustees later approved a separate action to request low-attendance waivers from the Texas Education Agency for campuses affected by threats. That waiver process, as explained in the meeting, is applied for after an incident, may be used when attendance deviates by 10 percent from the prior year, and may still require the district to make up operational minutes if short.

The parents' remarks also raised an open records question: Aranda said the district's legal counsel relied on statutory exemptions in responding to his public-information request and that the attorney general's office is reviewing the matter. The board did not announce a timeline for any changes to its communication procedures at the Oct. 13 meeting.

The board is scheduled to continue routine business; trustees later approved a set of actions and returned to closed session to consider personnel and litigation matters before adjourning at 8:05 p.m.