EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso ISD central office administrators are heading back to the classroom this school year under a new plan the district says could save millions while also reconnecting decision-makers with the campuses they serve.

The district is requiring salaried central office employees to work as substitute teachers eight days during the school year, four days each semester.

Hourly employees are not required to participate, and some staff may be exempt depending on how their positions are funded.

Julia Spencer reports on EPISD confirms central office staff, including superintendent, must sub eight days

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On Friday morning, Micaela Varela, EPISD’s director of elementary personnel and recruiting, spent the day as a substitute teacher in a fourth-grade classroom at Polk Elementary.

“So this is bringing us back into where the purpose behind all the work we do at Central Office,” Varela said.

The initiative follows major budget actions taken this year. In June, EPISD declared financial exigency and made millions in cuts to reduce a projected $47 million budget deficit to $4.3 million.

Interim Chief Financial Officer David Bates said the district expects the administrator-substitute plan to reduce costs tied to paying substitutes.

“Filling in as substitutes, having central office personnel serve in the campuses as substitues, which will help save the district some dollars,” Varela explained.

In a June 4 presentation, Bates said, “That would eliminate my $4 million in substitute line codes that you approve each year.”

Bates told KFOX14/CBS34 he and Superintendent Dr. Brian Lusk brought the idea from their time working at Dallas ISD.

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Varela said the initiative is also intended to put administrators in the schools affected by central office decisions.

She previously spent 10 years at Polk as an assistant principal and principal. The teacher whose class she covered Friday was someone she hired.

“Yes, she was one of the first teachers I hired when I came to Polk. So, it is fun to be here in your class today and I am excited to spend the day with you all,” Varela told the students.

The requirement applies throughout the district’s leadership, including Lusk, who is also expected to spend eight days this school year substituting on district campuses.

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