EPISD Is Sending Administration Back To The Classroom As Substitutes

EPISD just made a bold decision to send central office staff and even superintendents back into the classroom. The claim is that having admin staff subbing in classes could save the district millions.

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In a presentation that happened June 4th, 2026, Interim CFO David Bates claimed this would lower the amount of money the district spends on subs over the year. The figure given was that $4 million dollars could be saved, a budget that normally gets spent on hiring substitutes for classes. Bates said he and Superintendent Dr. Brian Lusk took the idea from their time working in Dallas.

The district only requires salaried central office admin staff to sub 8 days out of the year, 4 days per semester. Not all admin would be required to substitute, it would all depend on the way they are paid by the district. Which means admin members that get paid hourly from EPISD Central Office would not be required to substitute,

A member of the central office admin team has already subbed in a classroom as a matter of fact. EPISDs Director of Elementary Personnel and Recruiting, Micaela Varela, subbed for a 4th grade class over at Polk Elementary. Coincidentally, in the classroom of a teacher she hired during her 10 years working as assistant principal and principal.

Varela also believes that bringing central office admin into the classrooms will help them be more connected to the issues occurring in these spaces that they usually aren't as aware of.

Some El Paso residents in comments on social media see this as a good thing, because admin in classrooms can finally see firsthand what teachers are dealing with. Other residents believe this is taking work from substitute teachers and that admin should not need to see these issues for themselves to trust that they are real issues. Whether or not you agree with the decision, only time will tell how this new plan will impact the districts financial issues.

The decision for administration to sub in classrooms came after EPISD claimed financial exigency and needed to make millions in cuts to reduce their projected $47 million budget deficit.