By Eduardo Rueda / Investigative Reporter
The San Diego County Board of Education placed long-time County Superintendent Randy Ward on administrative leave as they initiate a forensic audit in the wake of a lawsuit claiming Ward was engaged in self-dealing.
At the monthly meeting of the County Board of Education on Wednesday, July 13, several teachers spoke about concerns raised in a lawsuit filed last week by the California Taxpayer Action Network (CalTAN). The lawsuit alleges that Ward asked for and received an amendment to his contract in 2014 that connected his pay raises to those given to teachers and classified employees of the County.
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.
Photo: Mario A. Cortez
By Eduardo Rueda – Investigative Reporter
Two current Trustees and one former Trustee of the San Ysidro School District dispute the District’s official position that it properly voted to settle an employee settlement last year.
All three Trustees say that no vote was taken to approve a separation agreement that paid out over $100,000 to an employee that had been terminated by Superintendent Julio Fonseca. That employee felt he was fired only after he talked about Fonseca’s hiring of a woman he was dating.
Three other current Trustees refused to comment. Antonio Martinez, Irene Lopez, and Board President Rosaleah Pellasigue did not return repeated requests for comments.
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.