By Eduardo Rueda / Investigative Reporter
For the second time in two months, a San Ysidro Superintendent has resigned amid allegations of wrongdoing in a district that has already seen a former Superintendent convicted and sentenced to prison time.
Jose Arturo Sanchez-Macias, who had served as Interim Superintendent since Sept. 2, resigned at a special meeting of the San Ysidro school board on Friday night after a five-hour closed door discussion among the Board and its lawyer.
“The San Ysidro School Board has unanimously accepted the resignation of Mr. Jose Arturo Sanchez-Macias as Interim Superintendent effective immediately,” Board member Marcos Diaz said, after Board President Rosaleah Pallasigue appeared visibly shaken and was unable to announce the decision herself.
Mario A. Cortez | La Prensa San Diego
The San Ysidro School District is in settlement negotiations with a female employee that made sexual harassment allegations against former Superintendent Julio Fonseca.
Settlement talks are ongoing with Alexis Rodriguez, an employee that was involved in a personal relationship with Fonseca when they both worked at the District.
Fonseca resigned abruptly in October 2017 after Rodriguez’s allegations came to light. Although Board members were aware of the allegations, they voted unanimously to grant Fonseca a nearly $400,000 severance package when he resigned.
Fonseca had pushed to hire Rodriguez in November 2015, and the Board ratified her employment at its December 10, 2015 meeting.
Board member Antonio Martinez and Board President Rosaleah Pallasigue
Two school board members were served with recall notices at Thursday’s meeting of the San Ysidro School District after weeks of complaints being leveled against the District board.
“(W)e intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of San Ysidro School Board, in the City of San Diego, California, and to demand election of a successor in that office,” state the notices, each signed by ten registered voters in the District.
The two members, Board President Rosaleah Pallasigue and Antonio Martinez, were each handed a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition, the first step outlined in state law to remove an elected official from office.
Photo/Mario A. Cortez
Legal tensions increased at the San Ysidro School District this week amid a widening scandal that led to the abrupt resignation of Superintendent Julio Fonseca less than two weeks ago.
On Thursday, local taxpayer watchdog group San Diegans for Open Government (SanDOG) delivered a letter requesting that the District immediately file a lawsuit against Fonseca to recover money paid to him this week under a separation agreement approved by the Board two weeks ago.
“On behalf of San Diegans for Open Government, I am writing to request that the San Ysidro School District (“SYSD”) promptly commence litigation against Julio Fonseca to recover all sums recently paid to him under that certain Separation Agreement and General Release dated September 1, 2017 along with the health-insurance benefits and other consideration given to him upon termination,” wrote attorney Cory Briggs.