El Paso Schools Open Year With Fewer Teachers as EPISD Budget Shortfall Deepens
Staff cuts at EPISD and heavy teacher departures across the region's three largest districts are changing what classrooms look like as the new school year begins.
By Chinedu Okafor ·
As families in El Paso finish their last-minute supply shopping ahead of the first day of school, many classrooms across the region are set to look different this year. Staffing reductions and rising teacher turnover mean fewer educators will be on hand to greet students, according to a report from KVIA ABC-7.
The El Paso Independent School District eliminated 40 contract positions and 54 campus positions, among them teaching jobs. Data from the Texas Education Agency indicates that roughly 820 teachers in EPISD, Socorro ISD and Ysleta ISD retired, resigned or were terminated during the last fiscal year. That total equals nearly 10% of the teaching workforce across the three districts.
The reductions follow a serious budget problem inside EPISD. An official audit and internal communications obtained by ABC-7 show district leaders exceeded their approved 2025-2026 budget by about $21 million. The audit points to overspending, flawed enrollment assumptions, an $8.3 million revenue shortfall and financial risks that went unmanaged.
District financial officers publicly described a manageable deficit of about $6 million early in 2026. Internal chats, however, indicate top officials knew of a growing $21 million payroll deficit months before the full extent of the problem became public.
The uncertainty has unsettled the people working in classrooms. Kara Cervantes, president of the El Paso American Federation of Teachers, said some teachers who had never worried about their positions are now concerned. "It's scary," she said, adding that she does not blame them.
Retired teacher Margie Molina, who spent 40 years in the classroom, questioned how the budget could have been so far off. "I can't believe that tax dollars and money given by the state are not being taken serious enough by the local administrations," she said. Molina noted that shortages are already pushing schools to ask teachers to work outside their main certifications, such as moving social studies teachers into reading intervention courses.
The drop reflects a longer trend. Over the past seven years, full-time-equivalent teaching positions across EPISD, Socorro ISD and Ysleta ISD fell 10%, to about 8,400. Total employment in the three districts declined 8% over the same period, to 18,200 staff members.
Parents and local businesses are paying attention as well. Daniel Perez, a supervisor at the school supply store Bell 2 Bell, said he is concerned both through his work and as a parent and citizen, and wants assurance that tax dollars are going where they should and that children are being cared for.
The report outlines several concerns tied to the smaller teaching ranks. Remaining educators could face larger classes and additional administrative duties. Parents are asking how reduced staffing will affect individualized instruction and specialized programs. Local economists also warn that hundreds of lost education jobs would lower household incomes, local spending and municipal tax revenue.
Cervantes said workload is the worry she hears most often from teachers, who wonder whether they can handle added demands on top of teaching, grading and assessments while still giving students the attention they need, particularly with more students and fewer colleagues. ABC-7 said it will continue to monitor staffing levels and how districts distribute resources as the school year gets under way.
