Fonseca and Sanchez-Macias (Photo / Mario A. Cortez)
A formal State audit has found evidence that two administrators at a local school district may have committed fraud and misappropriation of funds by granting themselves unearned payments and life insurance benefits without proper approval from their board.
The State’s Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) conducted an extraordinary audit at the request of the San Diego County Office of Education to review actions taken by San Ysidro School District’s former Superintendent Julio Fonseca and Deputy Superintendent Arturo Sanchez-Macias.
“Based on the findings in this report, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that fraud, misappropriation of funds, and other illegal fiscal activities may have occurred,” the report concluded.
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.
By Eduardo Rueda / Investigative Reporter
San Ysidro School District’s former Superintendent cashed out the value of a life insurance policy last year without the approval of the school board.
Julio Fonseca, who served as Superintendent from July 2015 until he abruptly resigned last month after a sexual harassment claim was filed against him by a female District employee, cashed out $106,000 in payments allegedly in exchange for a life insurance policy granted to him in his employment contract.
Fonseca’s original employment contract with the District, approved in June 2015, included a base salary of $185,000, a $600 monthly expense allowance, $7,500 for moving expenses, $10,000 for relocation costs, 24 vacation days per year, 24 sick or personal days off per year, full health insurance benefits for him and his family, and a “District-paid term life policy in a benefit amount of $100,000.”
BY Augie Bareño
Local students will soon be reciting Shakespeare and acting out plays during a new after-school program launching in San Ysidro schools.
Tony Plana, actor, writer and director, has been a familiar face in movies, television and theatre during the past forty years. He is best known as Ignacio Suarez, the wise and witty grandfather character on the hit show “Ugly Betty”. Plana’s portrayal of the Ignacio Suarez has redefined and given depth and dignity to Hispanic characters on mainstream television.
Dignity and passion are things he learned from his parents and family, having been born in Havana, Cuba and emigrating to the United States, seeking a better life.
Manuel Paul (Mario A. Cortez | La Prensa San Diego)
The San Ysidro School District abruptly dropped its lawsuit against one of its former superintendents after having spent more than $480,000 in legal fees to try to recover $211,000 the District wrongly paid him.
The case filed against Manuel Paul in 2015 sought to recovery money paid to him when the District accepted his resignation after he was indicted by a Grand Jury on corruption charges in December 2012. Paul, who was accused of accepting meals from prospective contractors, was indicted along with 14 other school officials and contractors in a wide-ranging corruption scandal that included San Ysidro School District, Sweetwater Union High School District, and Southwestern College.