Two former San Ysidro School District administrators who abruptly resigned last year overpaid themselves a combined sum of more than $300,000 and received reimbursements for questionable expenses paid for with personal credit cards, according to a state audit.
A former San Ysidro superintendent who may have engaged in fraud or misappropriated district funds has filed a defamation lawsuit against a trustee who made public allegations against him.
By Eduardo Rueda – Investigative Reporter
The San Diego Grand Jury released a report critical of past actions of the San Ysidro School District, citing missing funds, destruction of documents, and an overall lack of financial accountability spanning several years.
The report calls attention to the District’s lax financial controls and lack of oversight by the school board members sitting between 1997 and 2014.
The report lays most of the blame on “staff”, meaning the superintendent and his administrators. The bulk of the inappropriate activity occurred during the tenure of Superintendent Manual Paul who headed the District from 2007 to 2013.
Several members served for long tenures during that period, including Yolanda Hernandez and Jean Romero, who each served over a dozen years on the board. Other members that served during this period were Raquel Marquez Maden, Paul Randolph, Jose Barajas, and Jason Wells.
San Ysidro School District Has Spent $480K Trying to Recover $291K From Ex-Superintendent
Ex San Ysidro superintendent Manuel Paul received $211,000 in severance pay when he resigned in 2013, after being indicted in a corruption case, as well as $80,000 in leave pay. If all goes well for the district, Paul will pay that back, plus damages and attorney fees.
By Ashly McGlone, Voice of San Diego
Manuel Paul
San Ysidro School District is still trying to recover more than $291,000 from disgraced former superintendent Manuel Paul, and has racked up far more than that in legal bills trying to make it happen.
The district has paid Long Beach law firm Leal-Trejo $480,000 as part of the lawsuit against Paul, filed in February 2015, according to figures provided to Voice of San Diego in response to a Public Records Act request.