A popular North Texas school superintendent, new on the job is officially terminated. Grand Prairie ISD voted to fire Jorge Arredondo in a meeting last night. NBC 5 education reporter Wayne Carter reports parents are still wanting to better understand why.
The Grand Prairie ISD school board voted 5-2 Monday night to terminate Grand Prairie Superintendent Jorge Arredondo.
This vote came after Arredondo was placed on paid administrative leave, and an investigation was opened two months after he started in July.
At a board meeting in early October, the board voted 4-2 on a motion that Arredondo violated the district's discrimination, harassment, and retaliation policy. One board member abstained from the vote.
"We are torn apart, our kids need us now more than ever -- we're fighting vouchers, we're fighting private schools, we have bigger items to fight. Please, as a parent and a teacher, bring him back," pleaded Ana Coca, a community member, at Monday night's meeting. "Bring him back, draw parameters, talk to attorneys, give him parameters for the next six months."
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The board has at no point elaborated on the details of the violation. Arredondo said he was never given specifics, but legal documents showing harassment claims at the center of the controversy with both he and the district accusing one another of improper conduct.
Parents in the district are divided over Arredondo's dismissal.
"I don't know exactly what happened, people got upset with the way he acted but in my opinion, he was doing what he needed to do what a lot of people didn't do before him," said one parent at Monday night's meeting.
"If a person has violated the law or any policy you have to hold them accountable for what the law said," said Angela Lucky Vaughn, a speaker at the meeting.
In a statement released after the school board's vote, Arredondo's lawyer said he would pursue further legal action against the district and individual board members.
"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," Arredondo's attorney, Mary Nix, said in the statement. "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."
Grand Prairie ISD Board President Amber Moffitt also released a statement. "I am confident that we made the right decision based on policy and the Texas Education Code,” she wrote.
Parents are still asking the board to share details on whatever Arredondo did that justified his termination.
In October, Arredondo filed a civil lawsuit against GPISD and its board members, petitioning a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction and motion for expedited discovery in Dallas County.
The presiding judge ruled in Arredondo's favor, blocking school board members from proceeding with efforts to potentially terminate his employment.
Arredondo's lawyers told NBCDFW Tuesday, they filed a motion to move the case back to state court and the district's lawyer has until next Tuesday to file a response.
