Suspended Grand Prairie ISD Superintendent Jorge Arredondo has obtained a temporary restraining order to block the school board from possibly firing him during Thursday’s school board meeting.
Arredondo filed a lawsuit Monday alleging the district and its trustees violated his contractual and constitutional rights when they placed him on leave last month after just several weeks on the job. The trustees voted 4 to 2 to say Arredondo violated a district policy regarding discrimination.
Arredondo's attorney Mary Nix told KERA he wasn't given a chance to respond to the accusation.
"We don’t have any information about what he has been accused of, so he has no way to defend himself and it is vital that due process is observed," she said.
She said she's surprised by the circumstances surrounding the entire incident just three months into his tenure.
“It’s hard to imagine what might be the cause for the board’s actions," she said.
The lawsuit alleges Arredondo was the target of discrimination himself by some trustees. His petition states he faced early "resistance and interference" from some board members.
"Instead of supporting Arredondo in his work to improve the district, which is what he was hired to do," the trustees "began denigrating Arredondo and both made disparaging remarks about [his] race, national origin, and language... ."
A spokesperson for GPISD told KERA in an email the district hasn’t been served legal documents related to the matter but that “as a public entity, we respect the legal process and will review any formal filings once they are received.
"The district is committed to acting in the best interests of our students, staff and community, and will respond to any legal matters appropriately through the court system.”
The temporary restraining order granted Monday prevents the Grand Prairie school board from considering or possibly voting on Arredondo’s possible dismissal during Thursday evening’s school board meeting. A hearing on a temporary injunction has been set for Oct. 28.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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