This story was updated on Tuesday with comment from the district. It was also corrected to more accurately reflect the board's vote.
The Grand Prairie ISD school board voted Monday night to dismiss suspended superintendent Jorge Arredondo.
The 5-2 vote came after months of controversy and legal back-and-forth.
Following a nearly two-hour-long closed session, the board approved a motion to terminate Arredondo's contract "for the reasons discussed by the board in closed session and as presented in the written notice of proposed termination that we were authorized in council to send him."
Voting to terminate the contract were board President Amber Moffitt, Nancy Bridges, Bryan Parra, Terry Brooks, and Emily Liles. Trustees Gloria Carrillo and David Espinosa voted not to terminate.
There was no public discussion among members.
In a statement about the meeting, the district said the vote authorized attorneys to notify Arredondo of his proposed termination.
"After a thorough investigation and the advice of legal counsel, I am confident that we made the right decision based on policy and the Texas Education Code,” Moffitt said in the statement.
Arredondo was hired by a unanimous vote in June to lead the district.
Allegations of policy violations led to his paid suspension in September after two months on the job. He then sued the district and trustees, alleging he had been denied the chance to defend himself against their claims. In his lawsuit, he said the district violated his contractual and constitutional rights.
Trustees heard from a dozen speakers prior to their closed session Monday night, most of them in support of Arredondo.
Ana Coca, past president of the Grand Prairie League of United Latin American Citizens, urged the board to reinstate the superintendent.
“Dr. Arredondo has the tools to make this a premiere [district],” she said. “I’ve been here more than 30 years. Please, I implore you, do the right thing today. Bring him back."
She asked the board to give Arredondo "parameters" and then consider the matter in another six months.
"Our kids need us more than ever,” she said.
Speaker Angela Luckey-Vaughn disagreed.
"If a person had violated the law or any policy," she told trustees, "you've got to hold them accountable to what that law says, the violation and whatever that policy says."
Arredondo was previously granted a Temporary Restraining Order preventing trustees from considering his dismissal, but that order was voided when GPISD requested the case be moved to federal court.
Arredondo’s attorney, Mary Nix, called the board's decision "ill-advised" and said it "will only result in further legal action against the district and individual board members."
She said there is no evidence Arredondo violated district policy and that while he is disappointed, "he remains confident that his name will be cleared and the motivations behind this wrongful termination will be exposed."
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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