Latest news with #CoachellaValleyUnified
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CVUSD teachers' union president sues district, alleges discrimination against non-Latino employees
The president of the teachers' union at Coachella Valley Unified School District is suing the school district, alleging retaliation and discrimination. Here's what you need to know. The complaint, which was filed on March 11 on behalf of Carissa Carrera, alleges retaliation for reporting racial discrimination against non-Latino employees and corruption within the district. She also claims she was falsely accused of misusing district funds for her son's mental health care, prompting an unfounded law enforcement investigation that resulted in a privacy violation and the unauthorized release of medical records. The complaint names the school district; Superintendent Frances Esparza; two board members, Jesus Gonzalez and Joey Acuña Jr.; Bea Gonzalez, CVUSD's director of expanded learning; the Riverside County Latino Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services and its executive director, Leonel Contreras; and 25 unnamed individuals. Carrera, who has worked at the district since 2004, has led the teachers' union as its president since 2017. Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, no relation to Jesus Gonzalez, recently honored Carissa Carrera the Woman of the Year for Assembly District 36 in recognition of her advocacy for educators, students, and the community. The complaint alleges that Carrera was retaliated against for reporting racial discrimination against non-Latino employees and corruption within the district. She claims the district has openly favored Latino candidates for jobs and promotions, while excluding or retaliating against non-Latino employees. Carrera also raised concerns about non-Latino employees being laid off at a higher rate than Latino employees, according to the lawsuit. Carrera was placed on paid administrative leave just days before the November general election, during which she and the union actively opposed Jesus Gonzalez's re-election. She had filed two complaints with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Gonzalez and Acuña, who was running for the California State Assembly, alleging financial conflicts of interest. More: Special election results: Incumbents lead Coachella Valley Unified school board races in unofficial results More: How much money is being raised by Coachella Valley Unified's school board candidates More: What voters should know about Coachella Valley Unified's special election in Imperial County "In retaliation against Ms. Carrera for her engagement in these protected activities, and due to Ms. Carrera's non-Latino racial identity, Defendants began in 2023 and 2024 began an increasingly hostile campaign of harassment, discrimination, microaggression, and intentional actions meant to hurt Ms. Carrera's reputation, career, and standing in the community," the complaint read. Days after Carrera filed her complaint with the FPPC, she said the school district placed her on leave on Oct. 25. The district later issued a press release stating that an employee was under investigation for allegedly misusing district funds, which the Riverside County Sheriff's Department later determined to be "unfounded." An incident report provided by CVTA in December detailed a deputy's investigation into Carrera, which began in October after the sheriff's department was contacted by a private investigator hired by the school district. The private investigator was looking into a "possible fraudulent incident" involving Carrera's use of services at the Riverside County Latino Commission, a contracted provider for the district, for her minor son, who was then a student at Desert Sands Unified School District. "As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff was harmed; she has been humiliated, suffered emotional pain and distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and economic damages," the complaint read. CVUSD has not publicly responded to the lawsuit, and the district spokesperson has not immediately returned a request for comment. Carrera is requesting a jury trial and seeks compensatory damages to be determined at trial, along with exemplary damages against the defendants. Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: CVUSD teachers' union president sues district, alleges discrimination
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Special election results: Who will join the Coachella Valley Unified School District board?
(This story will be updated as votes are tabulated.) A special election is underway for three school board areas at Coachella Valley Unified School District after those contested races were inadvertently left off roughly 2,400 Imperial County ballots in the November general election. CVUSD's district boundaries extend across both Imperial and Riverside counties and trustees are elected at large — allowing voters within these boundaries to cast ballots for all trustee areas, regardless of the specific trustee representing their geographical location. Registered voters in Imperial County have the same voting options as in the November election. Eight precincts received vote-by-mail ballots, while the ninth, which has more affected voters, also received mail-in ballots. Voters in this precinct can also choose to vote in person from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the West Shores Senior Citizens Club in Salton City Tuesday. More: What voters should know about Coachella Valley Unified's special election in Imperial County More: How much money is being raised by Coachella Valley Unified's school board candidates Once the polls close in Imperial County, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters will report the school board results from the Nov. 5 election. The Imperial County Registrar of Voters will also announce its results, which will include the vote-by-mail ballots received up until March 3. One additional report that includes all of the in-person votes cast on Election Day will be released when the poll workers return from the polling site in Salton City. Imperial County will then begin the canvassing process and complete the processing of all vote-by-mail ballots before releasing the certified final results on March 18 — two days before the CVUSD board meeting on March 20, when newly elected or re-elected board members are expected to be sworn in. At that meeting, the school board will likely vote to appoint a new president, vice president and clerk, each serving a one-year term in those roles. Since the November election, Thomas Tortez Jr., the former tribal chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, was sworn into the board in December after running unopposed for Trustee Area 3, which represents the communities of Oasis and Salton Sea. In the meantime, six candidates are vying for three seats on the seven-member school board, with incumbents running for re-election against challengers endorsed by the teachers' union. More: School board Q&A: Where do Coachella Valley Unified School District candidates stand? More: CVUSD school board candidates discuss safety and budget constraints at community forum If elected, school board trustees will serve four-year terms, overseeing a district of about 16,000 students while overseeing the budget, passing policies and resolutions and hiring and evaluating the superintendent. In July, the board appointed Frances Esparza as superintendent after she served as acting superintendent for nearly three months following Luis Valentino's resignation and retirement in April. The district is currently in the process of hiring two permanent assistant superintendents for educational services and business services, respectively. The board will also be responsible for supporting the superintendent in ensuring the district is fiscally solvent and avoiding a state takeover, as CVUSD addresses an impending shortfall. Hundreds of reductions in force may take effect next school year due to the budget crisis, along with possible cuts to employee hours and the reclassification of some director positions to coordinator roles — resulting in pay cuts. Like many school districts in California, CVUSD must navigate these challenges while tightening its budget due to the state deficit, inflation, the expiration of COVID-19 relief funds, as well as dwindling student enrollment and chronic absenteeism. As the only K-12 district in the Coachella Valley without law enforcement officers on campus, board members and candidates have discussed the potential reinstatement of school resource officers, along with other safety measures like metal detectors or clear backpacks. The district, which stretches from Indio and Coachella to Thermal, Mecca, Oasis and the Salton Sea, has board members representing specific geographic areas, though some regions in the eastern Coachella Valley overlap between trustees. Agustín Arreola is challenging Trinidad "Trini" Arredondo, who was elected in 2020. Arredondo is the head of TA Mentoring Services, LLC., which provides mentorship across school districts in Southern California. He has also worked in roles at the RAP Foundation and the Imperial Irrigation District. Arredondo is a Rotary member and a University of California, Santa Cruz graduate. Arreola, an external affairs manager at the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, previously worked as senior implementation manager at Lift to Rise, a Coachella Valley nonprofit focused on addressing housing instability. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, he also co-founded a network supporting young professionals across sectors. (Valerie García and Joey Acuña Jr. also represent Trustee Area 1.) Altrena Santillanes is facing incumbent Jesus Gonzalez, who has served on the board since 2020. Gonzalez is a licensed contractor and formerly served as mayor of Coachella. He had been indicted on felony bribery and conspiracy charges, the result of a land deal that involved his sister and developers of the property. Years later, he pleaded guilty to a single, lesser charge, but has always maintained his innocence. He re-entered politics when he ran unopposed for a seat on CVUSD's board during his first term. Santillanes most recently served as secretary of the tribal council for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and currently sits on the Salton Sea Authority board. Her background includes roles in government and civic engagement, such as with the First Nations of North America, the Chuckwalla National Monument campaign and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. (Silvia Paz also represents Thermal.) Adrian Rodriguez, a small business owner, tax accountant and CVUSD parent, is challenging Jocelyn Vargas. Rodriguez previously ran for the board in 2016. Vargas, a first-generation UCLA graduate and manager of the Basic Needs Center at College of the Desert, won her seat unopposed in 2020. She holds a master's degree in education from Loyola Marymount University and is presently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education. She has held positions in the nonprofit sector, including nonprofit management, grant writing, community development and parent and student engagement. Rodriguez has called for Vargas' resignation and filed a complaint with the county's district attorney's office, accusing her of purchasing a home in Indio, outside of CVUSD's boundaries, with the intention of making it her permanent residence. While she purchased the home, Vargas has maintained that she continues to live in the community she serves and has stated that the "unfounded allegation" is "unequivocally" false. Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Special election results: Who will join the CVUSD board?
