Board President Rosaleah Pallasigue,
Board Member Irene Lopez, and former Superintendent Julio Fonseca. Photo – Mario A. Cortez
San Ysidro School District Superintendent Julio Fonseca resigned abruptly on Friday night after a four-hour closed-door Board meeting.
The District’s Board of Trustees had called a special meeting for September 1, to review complaints against Fonseca, including one raised by a district employee.
The Board conducted a closed-door meeting among the board members, Fonseca, and his lawyer for over four hours, before emerging to announce its action.
“The Board, by a vote of five to zero, accepted the resignation of the Superintendent effective immediately, in exchange for 18 months of compensation and release of all claims,” reported Board President Rosaleah Pallasigue. “Dr. Fonseca’s departure is based on a personal situation,” Pallasigue added.
Luciana Corrales
A San Ysidro School Board member amended an economic interest form to report her income after a La Prensa San Diego article last week reported she had failed to claim any income for the past two years.
School Board Member Luciana Corrales filed an amended disclosure form on October 27th in response to an October 23rd article highlighting her failure to report her income on forms filed in July 2014 and again in December 2014.
On the amended form, Ms. Corrales now claims income received from Circulate San Diego, a non-profit organization. Her income range is stated between $10,001 and $100,000 during the period of 2013/2014 when she was a candidate for the school board. Ms. Corrales also disclosed that her husband, David Corrales, works as a Building Inspector for the City of San Diego. Filers are not required to disclose income from governmental entities, so it is not clear why Ms. Corrales included her husband’s employer unless he conducts inspections within the
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.
Board member Luciana Corrales
San Ysidro school teachers delivered petitions at a school board meeting Thursday signed by a vast majority of the District’s 225 teachers demanding that a Board member resign immediately.
Board member Luciana Corrales has come under increasing pressure to resign from teachers and parents alike. Thursday’s meeting became so contentious that San Diego Police officers were called in after a few community members and teachers began shouting at each other.
“We the teachers of Ocean View Hills are asking for the immediate resignation of Luciana Corrales from the San Ysidro School District Board of Education,” said Sam Sardo, a speech pathologist with the District, reading from a petition signed by 32 of 33 teachers at Ocean View Hills Elementary. “More over, she has encouraged parents to attack the District in ways that injure the students and progress of the District,” Sardo added.