The Texas Comptroller’s Office is conducting an in-depth review of the El Paso Independent School District’s finances, and newly obtained records indicate the inspection may extend beyond budgets and administrative costs.
State Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, obtained records showing the comptroller is seeking financial information including budgets, payrolls and contracts.
The records also show requests for other materials, including the district’s library catalogue, its policy on parental complaints involving human sexuality curriculum, and a count of students by ID type.
RELATED: State rep. Vince Perez questions TX review of EPISD, citing requests for student records
“If they came in here under the pretenses for investigating administrative costs, what does student records have to do with that?” Perez said.
Perez, along with representatives with Texas LULAC and the Save Our Schools Coalition, held a news conference to discuss the review.
At the time, Perez said he had heard the review may include student records, including how many students are enrolled with a state-approved ID number versus a Social Security number.
Perez said he sent multiple requests to the comptroller seeking more information about the scope of the review and used legislative authority to formally request the records being examined.
He also said state auditors were physically on campus at EPISD throughout this week.
After the news conference, Perez’s office sent a release detailing what the comptroller requested.
In addition to financial records, the release said the comptroller asked for student records, the school library catalogue and policies related to parental complaints over human sexuality curriculum.
The release said EPISD provided only aggregate numbers of students enrolled and did not provide anything that could identify students.
“I’m curious to see what was given, what EPISD had to turn over to the Comptroller, and I think that will answer a lot of questions,” Perez said.
“Accountability only matters if everybody in the state is being held to the same standard, and that’s not what’s happening here.”
EPISD Superintendent Dr. Brian Lusk is expected to be interviewed later today about the comptroller’s requests and what the district is providing.
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