El Paso Retired Teachers Association - EPRTA

09/11/2026

Join TRTA (Texas Retired Teachers Association) as we advocate for our Legislative Priorities during the 2027 Texas Legislative Session. Help us make our voices heard! We need all public school retirees as well as active teachers to join us to make this happen!

09/09/2026

FACEBOOK POSTS ABOUT PROPOSITION 9

We have seen several posts about Proposition 9 for Retired Educators. This Proposition was voted on and approved 3 years ago. THERE ARE NO PROPOSITIONS ON THE NOVEMBER 2026 ballot that are about retired educators.

If you have posted this information on your page, please delete it.

We will keep you updated on issues that
relate to retired educators.
Your job right now is to GO VOTE!

06/06/2026

EPRTA 2026-2027 Officers
Thanks to Steve Evans, District 19 President, for installing these hard-working members who will continue to lead our organization.
Each was given a candy bar appropriate to their office.

06/06/2026

Congratulations to Anna Marie Tolland,
2025-2026 recipient of the EPRTA Highest Award,
The Aubrey and Frances Cherry Award

11/20/2025

El Paso Retired Teacher luncheon yesterday, November 19, 2025.

07/28/2025

Join us for EPRTA's 80th Anniversary
Celebration! September 8, 2025.
Details below.
The El Paso Retired Teachers Association, EPRTA, is celebrating the 80th Anniversary of their founding in 1945 at their Wednesday, September 17, 2025 luncheon at the Airport Wyndham Hotel at Twelve Noon. The featured speaker at the luncheon is Mr.Tim Lee, Executive Director of Texas Retired Teachers Association.
This year's President of EPRTA, Anna Marie Tolland, invites all retired teachers to join us at the luncheon and to hear Mr. Tim Lee talk about the latest on health care insurance and other legislative issues. You do not need to be a member of El Paso
Retired Teachers Association to attend the luncheon; however,
YOU MUST MAKE A RESERVATION TO ATTEND.
Please call Anna Marie Tolland at 817-805-1983 to make
a reservation. The price of the luncheon is $28.00, cash or check accepted at the luncheon, and the DEADLINE FOR MAKING A RESERVATION IS MONDAY,SEPTEMBER 8, 2025.
The menu includes Waldorf salad, Chicken marsala with
mushrooms, Mashed potatoes, Green beans, and Key lime pie.
The El Paso Retired Teachers Association has the distinction of being the first organization for retired teachers in the State of Texas and we hope you can join us.

07/16/2025

Grab your boots and mark your calendar — it’s time to hit the trail to a TRS-Care Health Education Fair! This is a round-up of all your 2026 TRS-Care benefits, where you can get all the information you need for a healthy new year. Find and register for a location near you: https://ow.ly/UPS250Wot1P

07/05/2025

Learn more about what TRTA can do for you.

07/01/2025

Congratulations, Nancy
A well deserved honor!

TRTA Member Nancy Evan(Ysleta RSEA) Named ABC-7 Do-Gooder for Lifelong Community Service

Nancy Evans, a retired teacher and principal with 42 years in education, has been honored as El Paso’s ABC-7’s “Do-Gooder” for her outstanding volunteer work and advocacy in the El Paso community.

06/23/2025

The El Paso Retired Teachers Association is celebrating the 80th Anniversary of their founding in 1945. The El Paso Retired Teachers Association (EPRTA) has the distinction of being the very first organization of retired teachers in the State of Texas. It was formed two years before the founding of the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) and eight years before the formation of the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) in 1953, making the El Paso group the Charter member of the state association.

It was the personality of Laura Warren that led her to found the El Paso Retired Teachers association and her reaction to experiences while teaching in a rapidly growing El Paso School District from the 1920s to the early 1940s. The El Paso School District was struggling to build enough buildings to house the students and finding the money to pay the teachers. She worked through staff layoffs in the 1920s; salary reductions over a four-year period; weeks cut off the school year and finally near the end of her retirement in 1943 the battle over pensions for retirees. This last issue was triangular, pitting the State of Texas vs. the School Boards and Administration vs. the teachers and it was a struggle throughout the mid 1930s forward. At issue was who would take responsibility? The local districts claimed no money; the state claimed no more taxation and the teachers simply wanted a resolution. The other issue was how much pension was deserved. Should teachers be required to save for their own pension. A $40 pension was suggested and turned down.

Laura Warren was not a quiet participant in these negotiations. She actively and strongly advocated for the teachers who by law had to retire at age 70. She is specifically quoted in the newspaper in discussions with school board members and superintendents. In one discussion in 1929, when the school board president insisted that funds be allocated for buildings rather than staff she said, "Education is not a building. Education is the teacher, and the pupil taught."

It was all the above combined that led to her founding and serving as the first president of the El Paso Retired Teachers Association from 1945-1947. Her experiences with the issues that the El Paso School District was struggling through, the position of the State of Texas toward retirees and the bleak outlook she saw, her successful leadership and skills putting her into organizing and presiding in various organizations, and her public persona through her active participation in the community, all these led her to take action when she did. She faced mandatory retirement in 1944 and created EPRTA the following year.

Laura Yarnall Warren died a widow on April 5, 1960, at the age of 85. Her legacy is she created a voice for retired educators in El Paso and by extension for the State of Texas and the nation. The National Retired Teachers Association recognized her accomplishment in 1959 and of this she stated that this was the work of which she was most proud.