Board praises teacher for attending hearing as it moves to terminate contracts for Megan King and David Romero

After returning from closed session at the July 7 special meeting, the El Paso ISD Board of Trustees took up individual termination hearings and related actions.

The board took the hearing and associated termination item for Megan King out of order to accommodate her presence. Trustee Leverage moved to terminate King's one-year probationary contract for the 2026–27 school year; Trustee Cuellar seconded. The board president told King the board had "taken [her testimony] very seriously" and said trustees have been "aggressively pushing the district to try and find placements" for employees proposed for termination. Trustee Sutton thanked King for attending and commended her bravery and leadership, saying she would not have attended a hearing in her first year of teaching and calling it "a true leader." The motion to terminate King's contract passed 5–0.

The board later returned to closed session for a hearing on David Romero and, after reopening the public meeting, Trustee Cuellar moved to terminate Romero's one-year probationary contract; Trustee Osterlund seconded. Trustee Sutton again expressed appreciation to the employee for appearing and the motion passed 5–0.

Board members repeatedly stated they intend to press district administration and Human Resources to prioritize placement for employees previously proposed for termination and to pursue policies such as a first-right-of-refusal when vacancies arise. The board recorded its votes and then recessed to closed session for remaining personnel matters.

Sources: Public statements and votes recorded in the meeting transcript (noted at SEG 169–217 and SEG 225–280).