Dr. Roy Mendiola, superintendent of Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District, was found to have violated district policies in some of his interactions with two school employees.
The issues were detailed in letters from Board of Trustees President Fernando Campa to Mendiola and the two staff members who filed complaints. They were dated May 13.
The Westside Express obtained copies of all three letters after filing a Freedom of Information Act request. In each letter, the names of those who complained were redacted.
The letters from Campa detailed the results of an investigation conducted by Jeff Hollis of the Fresno-based firm of Oliver, Thomas & Hollis Investigations.
Most of the misconduct had to do with comments or displays of frustration by the superintendent during meetings and at one off-campus conference.
Hollis “sustained” two of the four allegations contained in the complaints, partially sustained another and rejected the fourth. But he concluded none of the incidents rose to the level of sexual harassment or misconduct or were pervasive enough to have created a hostile workplace.
But the investigator was critical of the superintendent, pointing out that his conduct was “clearly unprofessional,” showed “poor judgment,” and did not contribute to a “positive school climate.”
The letters from Campa said “appropriate corrective personnel action” would be provided in a separate letter from the board to the superintendent. Most such personnel actions are not considered public information under FOIA rules.
The complaints have been a public topic in Firebaugh for several weeks, having been discussed at the June school board meeting by city councilmember Freddy Valdez and others. All decried the district’s lack of transparency in addressing the complaints, which were widely known within the community.
The conduct detailed in Campa’s letters occurred from June 2023 to February 2024. The two “sustained” incidents involved, basically, inappropriate word choices; another a hand gesture depicting groping.
He used a groping gesture while explaining that any frisking of a female student should not be done around the bra line.
During a discussion of appropriate holds used to restrain female students, it was brought up that using such holds around the chest area could be considered inappropriate. In that discussion, Mendiola used the word “boobies.”
The use of the word “for any reason shows poor judgment,” wrote Hollis. But the investigator noted it described the region of the body being discussed.
In another incident, three staff members were attending a conference and decided to meet in the room of one of the attendees for a discussion. The unidentified employee excused herself to ready the room, and Mendiola reportedly told the other staff member “she’s hiding her dirty chones (Spanish for underwear).”
Mendiola told the investigator that he did not recall making the comment but admitted using the term “chones” in conversation. The other staff member confirmed hearing the comment, so the investigator “sustained” the allegation.
Another incident involved Mendiola drumming his fingers on a desk in an apparent display of frustration with an employee during a meeting. The investigator corroborated the behavior but did not find that it conflicted with district policy.
An allegation that Mendiola grabbed the complaining employee by the wrist during a conversation was not substantiated by witnesses, wrote the investigator. Hollis also did not “sustain” an accusation that Mendiola threw paper at an employee.
Mendiola did not respond to a request for comment.
All three of those involved can appeal the board’s decisions within time limits which appear to have lapsed. The employees could seek civil penalties following an appeal to the California Department of Education.
Mendiola joined the district in 2008, according to ZoomInfo.com, and became superintendent in 2021. The district has six schools with roughly 2,200 students and 120 teachers. According to the California Department of Education dashboard, Firebaugh has an excellent graduation rate though 91 percent of the student body is considered socioeconomically disadvantaged.
