As Reported by El Paso Matters: The El Paso Independent School District potentially lost about $3.25 million in state funding during the 2023-24 school year over unexcused absences and poor attendance reporting, according to an internal audit of five campuses.
The overwhelming majority of the losses came from Franklin High School, which reported 40,362 unexcused absences – the equivalent of having 13 days with no students attending class. This totaled a loss of about $2.34 million for the district.
Deliris “DMB” Montanez, Independent Candidate for U.S. Congress in Texas District 16, proposes more to be done to make sure schools and their staff address these issues and do a better job of keeping parents involved.
D. “DMB” Montanez’s Plan of Action:
(1) Conduct on-site evaluations of school administrators and teachers for accountability two to four times each school year.
(2) Create strict protocols that empower and engage parents about their children’s attendance.
Link to full El Paso Matters article: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/08/13/episd-attendance-audit-state-funding-truancy-absences/