The contract of Pueblo High School principal Auggie Romero was terminated by the TUSD governing board Tuesday night, in a 3-2 vote one board member called a “witch hunt.”
The board made the decision to dump Romero in the face of overwhelming opposition from students, staff and community members, who packed the Tucson Unified School District’s meeting room to try to convince the board to let Romero keep his post at the south side school.
Romero has been dogged for his involvement in a grade-changing scandal two years ago. On Tuesday night, board members Michael Hicks, Rachael Sedgwick and Mark Stegeman voted to retroactively cancel Romero's contract as Pueblo's principal for the next school year. He will fill out this school year as principal.
Sedgwick also wanted to review the contracts of eight other principals and administrators — and posted their names on Facebook — but couldn’t get support from other board members.
Critics decried that the board’s decision stank of personality conflicts dating back to the fight over the fate of the district’s Mexican-American Studies program that the state banned in 2010 under a law that was later declared unconstitutional. Romero was a key figure in starting and supporting the program.
Lizbeth Oquita, a senior at Pueblo, wondered why the board was dumping Romero now, two years after the incident and after he had been disciplined.
“You keep bringing it up over and over again. Is there an ulterior motive for this persecution?” she said. “Don't take him away due to your personal problems with him. Because this is no longer about you, it never has been.”
Oquita said Romero has empowered her and other students to dream and defy the odds against them. She said he shows up to games, plays and other school events, and always makes himself available to students.
“Although he’s an extremely busy man, he will always find time to help a student in need. Walking into his office there’s a sense of home as he recites the words, ‘Mijita, how can I help you?’” she said.
The board vote came just five days before the state-imposed deadline to let school employees know if their contract will not be extended.
After the vote, Pueblo High students, teachers and community members shouted "shame!" and students cried and hugged each other outside the board chambers.
None of the TUSD board members who voted to oust Romero spoke at length about their decision. Hicks, who requested the reconsideration after approving Romero's contract renewal last week, declined to comment.
Pueblo High School senior Liam Membrila had tears in his eyes as he chased down Hicks, yelling after him “Why?”
Hicks brushed past the student and TV cameras silently.
“He’s not a man. He’s not even a politician,” Membrila said. “It’s not about us (students). It’s about his re-election.”
Sedgwick said the vote had nothing to do with the MAS program, and was instead over Romero's decision in spring 2016 to change the grades of six students, allowing those students to graduate.
An investigative report by an outside attorney found that Romero likely broke state law in changing the grades. However, the report noted Romero made the grade changes after students completed make-up work that a long-term substitute teacher refused to allow them to do.
Romero, who has been principal since 2014, was suspended for two days without pay under former TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez for his involvement in the scandal.
Stegeman argued the contract termination Tuesday was "not in any way a disciplinary issue,” though he didn't explicitly say why he voted to cancel Romero's contract.
A handful of community members urged the board to oust Romero, arguing that letting him stay after he broke the law sets a bad example for students and sends a bad message to teachers.
Pilar Ruiz, a TUSD parent, noted that Romero admitted to breaking the law, and disrespected teachers by changing grades.
“We can’t be teaching our children that it’s OK to be breaking the law and be in that kind of position,” she said. “Our students deserve to have qualified people teaching them, and administrators who aren’t lawbreakers.”
Retired TUSD teacher Lillian Fox said although state law dictates that only the district governing board officially has the power to overrule teachers and change students grades, the practice is common — it’s happened to her — and is demoralizing to teachers.
“You must non-renew his contract no matter how much you like him, how much you respect him. He did something that should never be tolerated,” Fox said, calling for the school board to establish a policy stating anyone who changes grades should have their contract non-renewed.
Governing Board member Kristel Foster who voted against terminating the contract along with colleague Adelita Grijalva, called the board’s vote a "witch hunt" with no due process.
“I think that this is really about individual adult agendas on this dais and less about Pueblo High School,” Grijalva said.
