Southern California school districts plan reopenings despite dire spread of COVID-19
This week California has crossed yet another devastating threshold, reporting more than 3.12 million cases of COVID-19 and 35,701 deaths. The state has now reported more cases than Italy and Japan combined, with a multitude of cases that still remain unreported.
According to Bonnie Castillo, the executive director of the California Nurses Association, death rates have increased by more than 82 percent in California over the last two weeks. In the past seven days, the state averaged more than 41,000 new cases each day, a significant increase since the period before the winter holidays.
County School Chief Failed to Report Free Dinners
By Alberto Garcia
The San Diego County Board of Education’s Superintendent failed to report expensive dinners he received from lawyers that worked for the county district at the time, and he now denies the dinners ever happened.
Dr. Paul Gothold, who was hired as the county schools Superintendent in June 2017, reportedly had at least two dinners with the lawyers while he was seeking the post in San Diego.
“Paul Gothold asked us for help in securing the job of San Diego County Superintendent,” one of the lawyers told La Prensa. “Paul and his wife wanted to move to San Diego on a permanent basis and he asked us to make that happen,” the lawyer added.
San Diego Union Tribune
John Collins,the former Superintendent of Poway Unified School District, was arraigned in court Thursday on four felony counts stemming from allegations he withdrew vacation and sick pay without the approval of the school board, and for using school district funds for his own use.
Collins was fired from his position as Superintendent on July 9, 2016, after an internal investigation revealed he had taken $345,000 from the school district through unauthorized payments.
At the time, Collins was one of the highest paid school administrators in the state, with a total annual pay of over $450,000.
Last Friday, the San Diego County District Attorney’s office indicted Collins on three felony counts of appropriating funds without authority, and one felony count of misappropriation of funds.
School Lawyers Under Increasing Scrutiny
By Eduardo Rueda, Investigative Reporter
A San Diego-based law firm known for representing public entities has come under increased scrutiny for its legal work in various local school districts.
The law firm of Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz has represented most of San Diego’s 42 school districts over the past 15 years. Its most visible lawyer, Daniel Shinoff, has played a role in many high profile school district cases throughout the county.
Earlier this year, the firm was sued for malpractice by the San Ysidro School District for allegedly failing to inform that school board of potential settlement offers during a case and for breach of its fiduciary duty to the district. The law firm settled the case for $2 million at the first mediation between the parties, before any depositions were taken or binding arbitration sessions started. The District received a net payout of over $1.8 million after paying outside legal fees. The District
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