Grand Prairie ISD votes in favor of firing embattled superintendent
GRAND PRAIRIE – The Grand Prairie Independent School District voted 5-2 on Monday in favor of terminating recently hired superintendent Jorge Arrendondo.
Arredondo was placed on administrative leave in September, months after being chosen to lead the district in July.
The board voted in favor of the suspension to "protect the district and Dr. Arredondo." According to the district, Arredondo violated the district's policy around discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against district employees. The district has not provided any specifics about the allegations.
Arredondo's attorney Mary Nix said they filed a lawsuit against the district, claiming the board broke his contract by not giving him any advance notice or explanation for putting him on leave in September. He has continued receiving his $317,000 salary. Arredondo also claimed the board violated his constitutional rights by discriminatory and defamatory statements against him, implying that he was favoring Hispanic students and staff, which he said was not true.
In October, a judge temporarily blocked the district from firing him by granting a temporary restraining order. That restraining order expired, leading to Monday's meeting.
The board has not publicly released any information about what warranted the proposed termination angering a number of Grand Prairie residents who spoke at Monday night's meeting, demanding to know what he did to deserve termination.
"The school board has been really focused on spending a lot of our money, that should actually be focused on our teachers and kids," said Esmeralda Rodriguez, a LULAC member. "I don't know if this is going to be over. Dr. Arredondo probably wants to appeal, and this is just going to drag on and it's just not a good thing for our district."
School board member David Espinosa voted against the proposed termination and supports other options such as a reprimand, suspension or growth plan; however, he won't say what the allegations are.
Arredondo could take the district to court over Monday night's decision.
"This is an ill-advised decision that will only result in further legal action against the district and individual board members," Nix said in a statement Monday night. "Throughout his brief tenure Dr. Arredondo acted solely in the interests of the district's students and faculty, and no credible evidence has been produced that he violated any district policy. Dr. Arredondo is obviously disappointed, as are many in the Grand Prairie community. However, he remains confident that his name will be cleared and the motivations behind this wrongful termination will be exposed."
This is a proposed termination so the district will now go through the formal steps to end his employment.
"After a thorough investigation and the advice of legal counsel, I am confident that we made the right decision based on policy and the Texas Education Code," GPISD board president Amber Moffitt said in a statement released by the district Tuesday morning.
The statement went on to say that the board discuss next steps at a later date, with Tracy Ray continuing as acting superintendent.
"The District remains committed to the success of our students, staff, and the Grand Prairie ISD community," the statement said.