BRAWLEY — A writ mandate served to the Brawley Elementary School District demands that the district reinstate former superintendent Ron Garcia and declare the school board’s decision to fire Garcia null and void, according to the legal document.
The mandate was filed Friday in Imperial County Superior Court in Brawley and a court summons was delivered Wednesday to interim Superintendent Robert Moreno, said Eric Reyes, executive director of the Institute of Socio-Economic Justice and Progressive Community Development.
The suit, filed by Reyes on behalf of the public against the district, alleges the manner in which the school board discharged Garcia as superintendent during a board meeting June 14 violated the Brown Act for various reasons.
Attorney Anthony Luti, representing the institute, said specific agenda items regarding Garcia being put on administrative leave and the resulting compensation while on leave were not on the agenda of the board meeting and, even though they were discussed and voted on in closed session, there was no public announcement after closed session about the actions.
“The Brawley Elementary School District Board of Trustees broke the public’s trust by not following established policies and laws they swore to uphold and they must be held accountable and answer the public’s concerns,” Reyes said in a press release. “Publicly elected officials have to follow the procedures, guidelines and laws established to protect the public from abuse of power and allow for a true dialogue between the elected officials and the public they serve.”
Reyes and Luti said the mandate signifies the concern raised by parents at previous board meetings as former Witter Elementary School Principal Irene Salazar had issues with Garcia, therefore making the vote of Salazar’s brother, board member Armando Padilla, a conflict of interest.
“The reason why that is huge is because this vote was passed only by a 3-2 margin,” Luti said. “It’s not only a violation of board policy but California Government Code.”
BESD board president Cesar Guzman said the board knew the suit would eventually come down as the District Attorney’s Office interviewed each individual board member last week about the alleged Brown Act violations.
Guzman said interim Superintendent Moreno alerted the board after being served the court summons.
“It’s not like it’s something that we weren’t aware of,” Guzman said. “We have to address the issue.
“We just have to go from there,” Guzman said.
Staff Writer Roman Flores can be reached at 760-337-3439 or rflores@ivpressonline.com
The mandate was filed Friday in Imperial County Superior Court in Brawley and a court summons was delivered Wednesday to interim Superintendent Robert Moreno, said Eric Reyes, executive director of the Institute of Socio-Economic Justice and Progressive Community Development.
The suit, filed by Reyes on behalf of the public against the district, alleges the manner in which the school board discharged Garcia as superintendent during a board meeting June 14 violated the Brown Act for various reasons.
Attorney Anthony Luti, representing the institute, said specific agenda items regarding Garcia being put on administrative leave and the resulting compensation while on leave were not on the agenda of the board meeting and, even though they were discussed and voted on in closed session, there was no public announcement after closed session about the actions.
“The Brawley Elementary School District Board of Trustees broke the public’s trust by not following established policies and laws they swore to uphold and they must be held accountable and answer the public’s concerns,” Reyes said in a press release. “Publicly elected officials have to follow the procedures, guidelines and laws established to protect the public from abuse of power and allow for a true dialogue between the elected officials and the public they serve.”
Reyes and Luti said the mandate signifies the concern raised by parents at previous board meetings as former Witter Elementary School Principal Irene Salazar had issues with Garcia, therefore making the vote of Salazar’s brother, board member Armando Padilla, a conflict of interest.
“The reason why that is huge is because this vote was passed only by a 3-2 margin,” Luti said. “It’s not only a violation of board policy but California Government Code.”
BESD board president Cesar Guzman said the board knew the suit would eventually come down as the District Attorney’s Office interviewed each individual board member last week about the alleged Brown Act violations.
Guzman said interim Superintendent Moreno alerted the board after being served the court summons.
“It’s not like it’s something that we weren’t aware of,” Guzman said. “We have to address the issue.
“We just have to go from there,” Guzman said.
Staff Writer Roman Flores can be reached at 760-337-3439 or rflores@ivpressonline.com
