Board president Rosaleah Pallasigue,
A local taxpayer watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against the San Ysidro School District Superintendent alleging he illegally spent school district money.
The local non-profit, San Diegans for Open Government, known as SanDOG, claims Superintendent Julio Fonseca misused public money when he paid $113,433 to a terminated employee back in May 2016. That payment was connected to a settlement agreement with the employee that SanDOG argues was never properly approved by the District’s Board of Trustees.
“At this point, [Fonseca’s] fraud against the taxpayers cannot be ratified by so-called stewards of the public trust a handful of trustees who do not care how unethical their soldier is as long as he carries out their will,” said Cory Briggs, SanDOG’s lawyer who filed the lawsuit.
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.
Fonseca and Sanchez-Macias (Photo / Mario A. Cortez)
A formal State audit has found evidence that two administrators at a local school district may have committed fraud and misappropriation of funds by granting themselves unearned payments and life insurance benefits without proper approval from their board.
The State’s Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) conducted an extraordinary audit at the request of the San Diego County Office of Education to review actions taken by San Ysidro School District’s former Superintendent Julio Fonseca and Deputy Superintendent Arturo Sanchez-Macias.
“Based on the findings in this report, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that fraud, misappropriation of funds, and other illegal fiscal activities may have occurred,” the report concluded.
Mario A. Cortez | La Prensa San Diego
San Ysidro School District’s bond ratings have been lowered after it failed to make a bond payment in September 2017 amid the firing of both its Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent last fall.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P), a global credit rating agency, lowered the District’s general bond rating from “A” to “BBB+”, and lowered the rating on Certificates of Participation (COPs) from “A-” to “BBB”, the lowest rating still considered investment grade. The next lower rating is considered to be junk bond status.
“The rating actions reflect our view of the District’s management practices and internal controls following its late principal and interest payment in September 2017,” said Benjamin P. Geare, primary credit analyst for S&P. “The negative outlook reflects our view of lingering effects from the District’s history of poor internal controls could lead to additional unforeseen events that would pose financial stres
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.