Hundreds of El Paso teachers leave as enrollment declines reshape districts

About 820 teachers from El Paso, Socorro and Ysleta school districts retired, resigned or were terminated during the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to El Paso Matters. The departures represent nearly 10 percent of all teachers in the three districts and follow separation incentives of $3,000 that the districts offered to reduce staffing costs amid enrollment declines.

Patricia Amezaga, a physical education teacher at Coach Wally Hartley PK-8 School who taught for 35 years, was among those who accepted the buyout. "When they offered $3,000, I said, 'You know what, I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to leave, so, I'm going to take the leap,'" Amezaga said, according to El Paso Matters. "It's going to be really hard to leave, because I love it here. It's a great place to be. I think now it's just time for me to go."

The three districts hired a combined 470 teachers during the same period—260 at EPISD, 160 at SISD and the remainder at YISD. Over seven years, the number of full-time equivalent teachers across the three districts fell 10 percent to 8,400 during the 2025-26 school year, according to Texas Education Agency data cited by El Paso Matters. Total district employees declined 8 percent to 18,200.

Student enrollment at the three districts fell 13 percent to 124,000 students during that timeframe. Statewide, by contrast, teacher counts rose nearly 3 percent to about 368,300. Attrition reached nearly 13 percent during the 2023-24 school year, the Texas Education Agency reported.

Area economists warn the teacher exodus could ripple across the regional economy. Tom Fullerton, economics professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, told El Paso Matters that displaced teachers will reduce spending at local businesses, triggering secondary job losses in retail and service sectors. "Lower wage and salary disbursements, plus higher personal and business bankruptcies, will translate into immediate lower sales tax and (eventual) property tax collections," Fullerton said.

Wei-Ling Sun, UTEP education professor and faculty fellow with the Paso del Norte Partnership for Education Research, said the losses could discourage young professionals from pursuing teaching careers in El Paso. "It's definitely going to impact folks who are preparing to go into the teaching workforce. They might be forced into considering entering other options, or potentially moving out of this area," Sun said.

Future enrollment declines are expected due to low birth rates, coupled with state funding losses to voucher programs and changes to property tax calculations. Sun said local and state officials need to attract more residents to reverse the trend and may need to close or consolidate campuses.