The Texas Education Agency has removed its conservators from the Socorro Independent School District after the district completed established exit criteria and sustained its corrective actions, according to a Sept. 23 news release from the agency.
The decision ends an oversight arrangement that began March 7, 2024, when Socorro ISD entered an agreed order with TEA for the appointment of conservators. The agency said the order followed an investigation that substantiated findings related to academic noncompliance and significant governance, financial and operational concerns.
TEA appointed two conservators, Andrew Kim and Dr. Michael Hinojosa, to guide and support the district. According to the agency, the district has since stabilized its leadership, selected a permanent superintendent and established clearly defined leadership responsibilities, while its Board of Trustees demonstrated governance practices that support improved oversight, accountability and student academic outcomes.
On the financial side, the release said the district restored a balanced budget and resolved a $42 million deficit. TEA also cited stronger budgeting, operational planning and accountability systems; corrected compensation plan processes to ensure expenditures and stipends receive proper authorization; enhanced internal controls over budgeting, procurement and compensation; and new oversight systems designed to prevent unauthorized expenditures from recurring.
Academic compliance measures described by the agency include a strengthened graduation credit review process, improved monitoring of attendance, loss-of-credit procedures and transcript accuracy, and comprehensive graduation verification procedures to ensure students meet all state and local requirements before graduation is certified. TEA said the district also corrected the deficiencies in graduation certification, academic records and accountability reporting that led to the conservator appointment, and addressed longstanding monitoring deficiencies identified in prior audits.
The agency also pointed to expanded community engagement through advisory committees, budget processes, facilities planning, surveys and public updates, and said public meeting environments in the district have stabilized.
“Through newly established systems in budgeting, procurement and governance, Socorro ISD will be able to restore public confidence and better support its mission of serving students, families and its community,” TEA conservator Andrew Kim said in the release. Kim also credited the district’s Board of Trustees and staff for their partnership and the district’s commitment to sustained compliance moving forward.
More information about how TEA conservators support Texas public school systems is available on the agency’s Monitors and Conservators webpage.