el centro’s education crossroads: evictions, enforcement & a new arts school—all at once

El Centro’s education system isn’t just changing—it’s spinning. In the past two years, the El Centro Elementary School District (ECESD) has faced parent uprisings, a campaign-finance scandal, and a multi-million-dollar construction project that could reshape the city’s schools.

In 2024, the district blindsided families by terminating leases for county-run preschool programs. In 2025, one of its board members faced state enforcement action for campaign-finance violations. And this same year, the district is pushing ahead on a brand-new arts-focused elementary school.

Each episode has its own paper trail, but together they tell a bigger story—about transparency, trust, and what happens when public education starts to feel like a juggling act.

Part I — The Preschool “Eviction” That Wouldn’t Die

When ECESD superintendent Jon LeDoux issued lease-termination notices to the Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) in December 2023, families panicked. The move threatened to evict 136 children from Early Head Start, Head Start, and State Preschool programs housed on district campuses—including those at Booker T. Washington, Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Desert Garden elementary schools (ECESD ‘Evicts’ 6 ICOE Preschools, Feb. 7 2024*).

The notice gave ICOE until June 30, 2024, to vacate, even though the leases ran through 2035. Parents called it an “eviction.” LeDoux called it “making space for new programs.” The result: outrage.

By early February, parent organizers Mariah and Kristian Salgado were hosting bilingual meetings, circulating email templates, and rallying families to demand answers. “Parents are powerful,” Kristian reminded the crowd. “They work for us.”

LeDoux later said ECESD needed room for “additional specialized classrooms” and might rescind some cancellations by March—but no explanation reached parents or ICOE officials for weeks.

2025 Update: A Fragile Reprieve

Under heavy pressure, ECESD quietly extended the deadline, granting ICOE’s programs more time to stay in operation, according to the Chronicle’s follow-up report “ICOE Programs Get Reprieve from ECESD Eviction” (Feb. 19 2024).

ICOE began exploring alternate facilities while reassuring families that services would continue. As of fall 2025, ICOE is still accepting enrollment for its 2025–2026 State Preschool Program (Imperial County Office of Education). The programs remain open—but precariously so.

ECESD has not publicly released meeting minutes showing which leases, if any, were officially reinstated. Parents remain in limbo, unsure whether their children’s classrooms will still exist next year.

For families like Cindy Tafoya, the uncertainty is personal and financial. “They provide diapers at school and meals—we don’t have to pay for them,” she told the Chronicle. “I’d have to completely take them out of preschool if I had to pay.”

The district has not addressed those concerns publicly since.

Part II — Michael Minnix and the $41,000 Problem

While parents were fighting to save preschools, one of the district’s trustees was fighting a different battle—against the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

In 2025, FPPC enforcement staff advanced a case against ECESD trustee Michael Minnix, alleging 19 violations of California’s Political Reform Act stemming from his 2020 re-election campaign (FPPC Enforcement Case No. 2025-00124).

According to the FPPC’s accusation, Minnix allegedly failed to:

File mandatory pre-election and semi-annual campaign-finance reports;
Submit 24-hour contribution reports for large donations;
Properly disclose advertisement funding on mass mailers; and
Maintain accurate totals and donor information.

The proposed default decision carried $41,000 in penalties, grouping 14 counts under one administrative action. Minnix missed the filing deadline for a Notice of Defense, meaning the FPPC could proceed without his formal response. In plain English: Minnix didn’t respond within the deadline, so the FPPC moved to default — the administrative equivalent of losing by no-show — until he later requests to reopen the matter for settlement.

At the FPPC’s Sept. 18, 2025 meeting, the case was pulled from the agenda after Minnix requested more time to pursue a settlement. The matter remains pending as of October 2025.

Minnix, notably, ran for re-election in 2024 and remains on the ECESD board (Ballotpedia – Michael Ray Minnix, ECESD Candidate 2024).

No court or commission has issued a final decision—but the optics are rough. For a district already accused of poor communication, a trustee under ethics scrutiny doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Part III — A New School and a New Narrative

Amid all the controversy, ECESD is still moving forward with something rare: good news.

The district is developing a new TK–8 school focused on the arts, to be built on a 13-acre site in the Victoria Ranch / Aten area. Superintendent Ruben Castro says the project fulfills a promise made two decades ago when the district acquired land for a neighborhood school (El Centro Elementary School District – “New Elementary School Naming Process”).

The board has approved Nielsen Construction to begin pre-construction cost analysis. The projected cost: $30 million for Phase 1 or $60 million for Phases 1 and 2, depending on whether Proposition 2—a statewide bond measure on the November ballot—passes to provide matching funds.

Construction could begin as early as January 2026, with an 18-month build time.

Meanwhile, the district has opened a public naming process, inviting community members to submit suggestions through Nov. 6 via an online form. The top eight qualifying names will go to the board on Nov. 12, followed by a public hearing and a possible decision at a special meeting Nov. 15.

The new school will focus on visual and performing arts, integrating theater, dance, music, and design across the curriculum—mirroring the district’s STEM success at De Anza Magnet School but shifting the emphasis to creativity and performance.

Community feedback so far has been largely positive. But some parents have voiced quiet frustration: “It’s hard to celebrate a new school,” one parent said, “when we still don’t know if our preschool will survive.”

Part IV — Transparency on Life Support

I reviewed ECESD’s publicly available agendas and minutes (ECESD Board Portal) and found no published updates confirming rescinded preschool lease terminations or board discussion of the Minnix case.

Agendas through October 2025 include routine items—construction updates, staff appointments—but no evidence that the district formally revisited the 2024 eviction controversy in open session.

That silence may be procedural—but it deepens the perception that ECESD handles controversy by waiting it out instead of communicating clearly.

The Big Picture: Growth Without Communication

El Centro isn’t unique. Across California, small districts are being squeezed between expansion and accountability—trying to innovate while juggling scandals and distrust. But ECESD’s situation is especially stark: building a new arts campus while early-education families still wonder where their kids will learn next year.

Parents have proven they’ll organize, email, and show up at board meetings to fight for transparency. The question is whether the district will meet them halfway—or keep governing from behind closed doors.

Here’s my take: If ECESD wants a clean slate, it’s not enough to pour concrete for a shiny new campus. It needs to pour trust.

That means publishing meeting minutes promptly, issuing clear public updates, and closing the loop on decisions that impact real families. Build the arts school, yes—but build it with the same community that’s still waiting for answers.

Because in El Centro right now, the only thing more expensive than a $60-million school is the cost of losing public faith.