Popular school chief running afoul of board president
When the Madera Unified School District Board of Trustees meets tonight at district headquarters on Howard Road, a battle will be renewed.
It began in January over the sudden hiring of two law firms in addition to four already representing the district. Garcia, Hernandez, Sawhney & Bermudez of Los Angeles and San Diego were retained without vetting required by the board’s bylaws.
An agenda item scheduled for tonight’s 7 p.m. meeting will review and reconsider that decision as part of the board’s public session.
The hiring occurred in a special session Jan. 7, a meeting called by board president Maria Velarde-Garcia. According to Velarde-Garcia, the Garcia firm was hired to train the board in governance. But that firm’s first act after being hired was to oversee the employment of a sixth lawyer to “investigate” MUSD Superintendent Ed Gonzalez at the behest of Velarde-Garcia...