Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hey, not everyone is good with numbers

Following resignation, seat opens up on San Ysidro School District board

It’s open season for a seat on the San Ysidro School District board for the post recently vacated by Jose Barajas, a trustee who decided to resign instead of face a recall election.

Jose Barajas

The governing board of the district accepted Barajas’s resignation at its August 27 meeting and chose to appoint a new member rather than hold a special election. Barajas wrote that he was stepping down for “personal reasons.” As reported by La Prensa San Diego, Barajas had been presented August 12 with a petition stating that the people intended to recall him because he had "failed" to manage district finances. Nearly 2000 signatures had been collected.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Who wants to be a board member?

On August 27, the school board decided to call for applications to fill the vacancy, setting a filing deadline of September 18. The board announced it would conduct interviews and make the appointment when it meets again six days later, on September 24. The term expires at the end of 2016. Two people — Felipe Nuno and Steven Kinney — signaled they were interested in running for the vacated seat during public comments at the August 27 board meeting. Both have run for the school board before. Nuno had also applied to be a temporary school superintendent. Kinney finished out of the running last November, despite the backing of the district’s teachers and employees.

That vote for Manuel Paul's fat severance paycheck didn't help

Elected in November 2012, Barajas had cast the deciding vote the following March to give then-superintendent Manuel Paul a severance check for $211,347. Paul would later be sentenced to 60 days in federal custody after pleading guilty to accepting cash from contractors. All the while, Barajas had been calling for cuts to teachers’ pay.

The petition suggested that Barajas was supporting "nepotism." Parents and others who follow school district affairs said the families of both ex-superintendent Paul and Barajas were very close; the spouses said to be “comrades,” according to La Prensa San Diego. In March, the school district filed a suit to have the $211,347 returned by Paul, alleging the money was obtained through fraud and a breach of his fiduciary obligations. Paul's attorney wrote to La Prensa that Paul rejects "any suggestion" that he should give the money back.

Knock-knock. We're not satisfied.

Barajas learned of the recall petition when he answered the door at his house on the evening of August 12. “We were descending on him,” said Bertha Gonzalez in a phone interview with the Reader. “The people are not happy." Gonzalez, a longtime San Ysidro businesswoman, had arrived unexpected with the documents, accompanied by two parents who were members of the PTA. He looked "very surprised to see us," she said. “And he was also friendly, polite, and very courteous. In San Ysidro, we love our children and we care for our children. He [Barajas] is a friend of the community.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate

It’s open season for a seat on the San Ysidro School District board for the post recently vacated by Jose Barajas, a trustee who decided to resign instead of face a recall election.

Jose Barajas

The governing board of the district accepted Barajas’s resignation at its August 27 meeting and chose to appoint a new member rather than hold a special election. Barajas wrote that he was stepping down for “personal reasons.” As reported by La Prensa San Diego, Barajas had been presented August 12 with a petition stating that the people intended to recall him because he had "failed" to manage district finances. Nearly 2000 signatures had been collected.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Who wants to be a board member?

On August 27, the school board decided to call for applications to fill the vacancy, setting a filing deadline of September 18. The board announced it would conduct interviews and make the appointment when it meets again six days later, on September 24. The term expires at the end of 2016. Two people — Felipe Nuno and Steven Kinney — signaled they were interested in running for the vacated seat during public comments at the August 27 board meeting. Both have run for the school board before. Nuno had also applied to be a temporary school superintendent. Kinney finished out of the running last November, despite the backing of the district’s teachers and employees.

That vote for Manuel Paul's fat severance paycheck didn't help

Elected in November 2012, Barajas had cast the deciding vote the following March to give then-superintendent Manuel Paul a severance check for $211,347. Paul would later be sentenced to 60 days in federal custody after pleading guilty to accepting cash from contractors. All the while, Barajas had been calling for cuts to teachers’ pay.

The petition suggested that Barajas was supporting "nepotism." Parents and others who follow school district affairs said the families of both ex-superintendent Paul and Barajas were very close; the spouses said to be “comrades,” according to La Prensa San Diego. In March, the school district filed a suit to have the $211,347 returned by Paul, alleging the money was obtained through fraud and a breach of his fiduciary obligations. Paul's attorney wrote to La Prensa that Paul rejects "any suggestion" that he should give the money back.

Knock-knock. We're not satisfied.

Barajas learned of the recall petition when he answered the door at his house on the evening of August 12. “We were descending on him,” said Bertha Gonzalez in a phone interview with the Reader. “The people are not happy." Gonzalez, a longtime San Ysidro businesswoman, had arrived unexpected with the documents, accompanied by two parents who were members of the PTA. He looked "very surprised to see us," she said. “And he was also friendly, polite, and very courteous. In San Ysidro, we love our children and we care for our children. He [Barajas] is a friend of the community.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.