EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — With only weeks left before students return to class, the El Paso Independent School District board has approved another round of staff reductions as the district works to recover from a budget crisis.

The school board voted to approve the termination of several positions across more than a dozen campuses after the district declared a financial exigency last month.

The cuts include probationary teachers in subjects such as English, math, science, social studies and physical education.

RELATED: EPISD board hears layoff appeals, votes to terminate some employees

Board Vice President Dr. Jack Loveridge said the vote followed an earlier board action tied to the district’s financial emergency.

According to Loveridge, Tuesday’s meeting is the second step in a two-step process.

“So it’s actually followed through on the initial round of terminations that was approved by the Board of Trustees to address the financial agency,” Loveridge said. “This is essentially authorizing these layoffs to go on as intended.”

The positions span multiple campuses, including:

High SchoolsAndress High SchoolAustin High SchoolBowie High SchoolChapin High SchoolCoronado High SchoolEl Paso High SchoolFranklin High SchoolIrvin High SchoolJefferson High SchoolMiddle SchoolsBrown Middle SchoolCanyon Hills Middle SchoolHornedo Middle SchoolMagoffin Middle SchoolWiggs Middle SchoolPK-8 SchoolsBobby Joe Hill PK-8Coach Wally Hartley PK-8Don Haskins PK-8Dr. Josefina V. Tinajero PK-8Other

District leaders said the reductions are not expected to affect students when they return to school this fall, including class sizes.

“So what the administration tells us is that they made sure that any terminations that they are following through with will not affect class sizes for one or disproportionately affect certain campuses over others,” Loveridge said.

The agenda also includes proposed terminations for instructional coach positions at Crockett Elementary, high school testing coordinators and teachers serving in temporary or unassigned positions.

Loveridge said affected employees were given an opportunity to challenge their proposed termination if they believed they had been placed in the wrong category.

“We offered the folks who were affected a period in which they could appeal these decisions if they felt that they weren’t in the category,” he said. “This is basically following through with those who didn’t file appeals and confirming their terminations.”

RELATED: Audit: El Paso ISD knew of budget risks before financial crisis became public

Loveridge acknowledged the difficulty of the decisions facing the board.

“This is really something that none of us wanted to have to do,” he said. “It really is something that is caused by the financial situation of the district.”

The latest layoffs come as the district continues reducing payroll after declaring a financial exigency to address what was described as an original multi-million-dollar budget deficit.

Weeks after that decision, the board adopted a budget with a $4.3 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year.

KFOX14/CBS4 asked how the district will ensure classrooms remain staffed in the affected subject areas, Loveridge said the administration is monitoring staffing needs by campus.

“Just generally, they are making sure that they have the right number of teachers for these particular subjects on a campus by campus basis,” Loveridge said. “I haven’t seen a very specific list beyond that and I know that staffing is a sort of running process. So I have seen nothing to indicate that we are going to have a shortage of a particular kind of teacher.”

The layoffs have also caused concern for some parents regarding impacting the classroom and campuses across the district.

“I think there was a good amount of care given to not affecting particular campuses disproportionately,” Loveridge said. “Administration has confirmed that these terminations will not affect class sizes.”

He added that the board intends to monitor the district’s staffing plans as they are carried out.

“We intend to hold the district to its word to make sure that this doesn’t disproportionately impact particular campuses and that class sizes don’t suddenly go up,” Loveridge said. “I don’t foresee that happening.”

Loveridge said this approval of job cuts is expected to be the last before the new school year begins.

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