Last spring, Patricia Amezaga, a physical education teacher at Coach Wally Hartley PK-8 School, tossed volleyballs and talked to students who visited her gym every day as part of an afterschool program for military families.
Amezaga knew it would be one of the last days she’d have to wrangle footballs, referee a game of pickup basketball and watch students head home with their parents at the end of the day.
Amezaga said she had considered leaving her job after teaching for 35 years, but wasn’t sure until the El Paso Independent School District offered a $3,000 buyout to employees to give an early notification of their plans to retire or resign at the end of the school year. She took it and retired at the end of the 2025-26 school year…