Sweetwater Union High School Distric
t (SUHSD) has agreed to settle a five-year lawsuit with a contractor that claimed his contracts were wrongfully terminated in retaliation for not giving political contributions to a school board member.
The multimillion-dollar settlement was reached with HAR Construction, and its principal, Hector Romero, more than five years after his contracts to build two schools were abruptly cancelled in 2011. Romero claimed he was wrongfully terminated when he refused to participate in a “pay-to-play” scheme that existed at the time.
“HAR Construction is pleased with the settlement,” Romero said after the Board’s vote on Monday night. “We thank the new board and administration for their changed approach and constructive efforts to resolve this matter in a fair and equitable way,” Romero added.