Mystery donor gives $5,000 to PAC supporting Socorro ISD tax proposal 

A mysterious donor made a significant contribution to a political action committee supporting the Socorro Independent School District tax proposition that is on the Nov. 3 election ballot.

The donor, using the name Student First, gave the Support Socorro ISD Schools PAC a $5,000 donation on Oct. 8, according to campaign finance reports last week.

The address and phone number provided by the donor and listed on the PAC’s campaign filings appear questionable, El Paso Matters found.

The PAC has spent over $47,500 supporting Socorro ISD’s voter-approval tax ratification election — or VATRE — which would generate up to $49.2 million a year in revenue if approved by voters Tuesday. The proposal is on the ballot as Proposition A.

Support Socorro ISD Schools PAC Chair Joe Espinoza said he believed Student First is a political action committee that supports public school districts. But no organization by that name is registered as a PAC donor with the Texas Ethics Commission, which oversees campaign finance law in the state.

Espinoza said he is unaware of how Student First is funded and has not spoken to anyone associated with the group. He said Support Socorro ISD Schools received a contribution check from Student First in the mail.

Socorro ISD Chief Communications Officer Daniel Escobar said the PAC works independently from the district and noted that he is not familiar with Student First.

Student First lists a shared coworking space at 311 Montana Ave. near Downtown as its address on the finance report. A receptionist for the coworking space told El Paso Matters it does not have any members under that name.

A person answering the phone number Espinoza said was provided by the donor said she wasn’t familiar with Student First when contacted by El Paso Matters. 

“Several individuals involved in the Support Socorro ISD Schools PAC have participated in fundraising efforts,” Espinoza told El Paso Matters over text message. “The address reported was identified as the organization’s address. The number I gave you was what was provided for Student First. That’s all the information I have at this time.”

Support Socorro ISD Schools was formed last year to support a similar proposition that was rejected by voters during the November 2025 general election.

The PAC is made up of members of SISD’s Finance and Operations Advisory Committee, who in 2025 helped the district develop a long-term financial strategy and recommended calling for the VATRE.

Support Socorro ISD Schools raised $33,450 throughout October to support Proposition A, according to campaign finance reports, and spent almost $47,500. This included two purchases totaling over $41,000 from Airport Printing for unspecified advertising.

Some of the PAC’s other large contributions include $10,000 from the Building El Paso PAC and $5,000 each from El Paso businessman Woody Hunt and Banes General Contractors.

The PAC also got $1,000 from the Joseph Moody campaign and $500 from the Veronica Escobar campaign.

Previous campaign reports show the PAC got $5,000 from the Socorro American Federation of Teachers.

The Keep Ysleta Strong PAC has spent $18,500 on unspecified expenses supporting the Ysleta Independent School District’s tax proposal, which would generate up to $5.5 million annually if approved, according to campaign finance reports.

The PAC received $22,500 in contributions, including $5,000 each from the El Paso Association of Contractors, Jobe Materials and Hunt and $3,000 from Banes General Contractors.

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