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

Shades of Sweetwater at Calexico Unified School District

There are problems with Yuri Calderón's timeline.
There are problems with Yuri Calderón's timeline.

As the San Diego County grand jury opens an investigation this week into allegations of corruption in the Sweetwater Union High School District, new intrigues play out in Calexico with Sweetwater’s former attorney firm, GCR, LLP. The firm was released from Sweetwater in January 2012 but continued to serve as counsel to Calexico Unified School District.

At an August 8 Calexico Unified board meeting, Yuri Calderón, who was at the time a principal in GCR, was serving as district counsel. That night, the financial consulting group Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc., was granted a $65,000 contract to help the district renegotiate Certificates of Participation. (COPs are an alternative infrastructure financing method.) The board voted 4-1 on the contract. Trustee Kim Joong cast the dissenting vote.

Enter the Imperial County Office of Education. Because last year Calexico Unified teetered on the brink of financial insolvency, it is incumbent on the office of education to oversee district finances.

In early November, Anne Mallory, superintendent of the county education office, sent a public records request to Calexico trustees and district superintendent Maria Ambriz. The letter, which was leaked to the Imperial Valley Press, begins, “I have just learned that the attorney for the Calexico Unified School District, Yuri Calderón, is an executive with Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc, a financial firm that has been retained to perform substantial work for the district….”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Yuri Calderón, who was contacted at the offices of Caldwell Flores Winters on November 19, said he resigned from GCR and divested himself of any interest with the company on August 30. He averred he has not done work for Calexico Unified since mid-August and went to work for Caldwell Flores Winters on September 1.

There are problems with Calderón’s timeline.

In an August 2 presentation to Sonoma County’s Gravenstein Union School District by Caldwell Flores Winters, Calderón is listed as an associate.

Additionally, an attorney for the Imperial County Office of Education, Richard Currier, said in an October 11 meeting between the office of education and Calexico Unified that the district described Calderón as counsel for the district.

In a November 20 interview, Currier also said that in that meeting the district never informed county representatives that Calderón had resigned from GCR or that he was working for Caldwell Flores Winters.

Calderón is still listed with the State Bar of California as a GCR associate.

During the November interview, Calderón said he is “taking a break” from practicing law and that he is simply an employee of Caldwell Flores Winters and has no financial investment in the business.

Calderón also said the county office of education’s letter that was “leaked” to the press was all part of the county’s attempt to “change the conversation. The school district [Calexico Unified] has successfully turned itself around in less than a year and put its fiscal house in order…but the county keeps pounding on the district.” Calderón also said that Caldwell Flores Winters has had contracts with the district going back seven years.

In the end, the County did not allow the district to restructure the Certificates of Participation and Calexico superintendent Ambriz said Caldwell Flores Winters will not be paid the $65,000 consultant’s fee. Ambriz also said she requested and received a copy of Calderón’s resignation, which is dated August 30.

Currier said that had the financial restructuring occurred, it would have cost taxpayers $1.89 million over the term. “It’s basically like living off your credit card,” said Currier.

Regarding the relationship between Calexico Unified and the county office of education, Currier commented: “I can say with certainty that it has never been our intent to have difficult relations. It’s more that in the last couple of years the district has been less than fully cooperative at times and not fully disclosed information.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Gonzo Report: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam band

Fans turn out in force for show at SDSU
There are problems with Yuri Calderón's timeline.
There are problems with Yuri Calderón's timeline.

As the San Diego County grand jury opens an investigation this week into allegations of corruption in the Sweetwater Union High School District, new intrigues play out in Calexico with Sweetwater’s former attorney firm, GCR, LLP. The firm was released from Sweetwater in January 2012 but continued to serve as counsel to Calexico Unified School District.

At an August 8 Calexico Unified board meeting, Yuri Calderón, who was at the time a principal in GCR, was serving as district counsel. That night, the financial consulting group Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc., was granted a $65,000 contract to help the district renegotiate Certificates of Participation. (COPs are an alternative infrastructure financing method.) The board voted 4-1 on the contract. Trustee Kim Joong cast the dissenting vote.

Enter the Imperial County Office of Education. Because last year Calexico Unified teetered on the brink of financial insolvency, it is incumbent on the office of education to oversee district finances.

In early November, Anne Mallory, superintendent of the county education office, sent a public records request to Calexico trustees and district superintendent Maria Ambriz. The letter, which was leaked to the Imperial Valley Press, begins, “I have just learned that the attorney for the Calexico Unified School District, Yuri Calderón, is an executive with Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc, a financial firm that has been retained to perform substantial work for the district….”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Yuri Calderón, who was contacted at the offices of Caldwell Flores Winters on November 19, said he resigned from GCR and divested himself of any interest with the company on August 30. He averred he has not done work for Calexico Unified since mid-August and went to work for Caldwell Flores Winters on September 1.

There are problems with Calderón’s timeline.

In an August 2 presentation to Sonoma County’s Gravenstein Union School District by Caldwell Flores Winters, Calderón is listed as an associate.

Additionally, an attorney for the Imperial County Office of Education, Richard Currier, said in an October 11 meeting between the office of education and Calexico Unified that the district described Calderón as counsel for the district.

In a November 20 interview, Currier also said that in that meeting the district never informed county representatives that Calderón had resigned from GCR or that he was working for Caldwell Flores Winters.

Calderón is still listed with the State Bar of California as a GCR associate.

During the November interview, Calderón said he is “taking a break” from practicing law and that he is simply an employee of Caldwell Flores Winters and has no financial investment in the business.

Calderón also said the county office of education’s letter that was “leaked” to the press was all part of the county’s attempt to “change the conversation. The school district [Calexico Unified] has successfully turned itself around in less than a year and put its fiscal house in order…but the county keeps pounding on the district.” Calderón also said that Caldwell Flores Winters has had contracts with the district going back seven years.

In the end, the County did not allow the district to restructure the Certificates of Participation and Calexico superintendent Ambriz said Caldwell Flores Winters will not be paid the $65,000 consultant’s fee. Ambriz also said she requested and received a copy of Calderón’s resignation, which is dated August 30.

Currier said that had the financial restructuring occurred, it would have cost taxpayers $1.89 million over the term. “It’s basically like living off your credit card,” said Currier.

Regarding the relationship between Calexico Unified and the county office of education, Currier commented: “I can say with certainty that it has never been our intent to have difficult relations. It’s more that in the last couple of years the district has been less than fully cooperative at times and not fully disclosed information.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Next Article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader