An administrator at an El Paso high school admits he helped weed out students who might have kept the campus from meeting federal accountability standards. Bowie High School assistant principal Johnnie Vega told the El Paso Times that he and others, fearing for their jobs, followed directives to prevent some students from enrolling, kick out others and award credits to yet other students who should have failed courses because they didn't show up.
The newspaper's exclusive interview marks the first time an El Paso school district employee has publicly admitted participating in the broad cheating scandal that has tarnished the district.
Former superintendent Lorenzo Garcia has pleaded guilty to fraud charges relating to the scheme, and the Texas Education Agency has lowered the district's accreditation status to probationary.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.