A former East San Jose school superintendent is speaking out about his abrupt firing, saying he was let go for asking board members to reimburse questionable expenses billed to the district.
The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees voted July 31 to fire then-Superintendent German Cerda, less than a year after he was hired last September to fill the role following the firing of Superintendent Hilaria Bauer in March 2024. Cerda thought he’d be fired sooner when he confronted board members for missing documentation related to money paid back by the district.
The reimbursements didn’t sit well with Cerda, given the district faced a $20 million budget deficit following the loss of COVID funds and a drop in enrollment from more than 10,000 students in 2015-16 to a projected 7,270 students in 2024-25. Trustees voted last year to close six schools to help address the deficit.
“They’re spending over $300,000 to pay me out and now they’re in a bigger deficit,” Cerda told San José Spotlight. “That, to me, is fiscal irresponsibility. These are funds that could have been used for after-school programs … to support student learning. These are two or three teaching positions, two assistant principal positions, a principal. It just breaks my heart.”
Cerda said Board Vice President Andres Quintero received more than $27,000 in reimbursements from the district for an online doctorate program he took with the University of the Cumberlands. Quintero also owed the district $5,000 for health benefits premiums, he said.
“You’re supposed to pay 15% of health benefits, and he wasn’t paying it,” Cerda said. “You can’t do that. It’s against the ed code. I addressed that as well and invoiced it. If you’re taking money (away) from students, this is just unethical.”
Quintero did not respond to requests for comment.
Cerda said he also found two board members — who he would not name — used district funds to purchase fundraising tickets at $200 each for an East Side Education Foundation Hall of Fame dinner, and demanded they pay it back. He said one trustee did, while the other, who was asked to reimburse tickets for two years in addition to costs for other fundraisers, did not.
“There needs to be a little bit more oversight over this district. It needs to be investigated,” Cerda said, adding he may escalate this to the District Attorney’s Office.
The board said Quintero submitted reimbursement requests for coursework in the past using the district’s reimbursement process.
“All requests previously submitted for which reimbursement was paid were approved by the then-superintendent and other responsible employees in the district’s business services staff,” the board said in a statement. “The district is reviewing the total amounts for those past approved reimbursements. The district is reviewing whether any reimbursements have been paid out in the past for attendance at community fundraisers.”
Trustees are encouraged to participate in advanced training offered by the California School Boards Association or an accredited college or university, the statement said. This helps reinforce skills and knowledge related to education issues to improve organizational effectiveness and learn best practices. Funds for board training are budgeted annually.
But that doesn’t sit right with Cerda.
“If you look at the board policy, it’s board training … board and governance boardmanship skills to improve and to understand more educational issues,” Cerda said. “You’re supposed to report out what courses and training you’re taking. It does not say you can take college courses for a graduate program.”
Cerda has been in education for 30 years and has a bachelor’s degree in Chicano studies from UC Santa Barbara. He worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 22 years as a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, principal and instructional director of secondary schools. Cerda said he chose to work as an assistant principal at Edwin Markham Middle School in the heart of Watts because of its high suspension rates and low academic performance. He was working in the Campbell Union High School District as assistant superintendent of educational services when he was selected to take over as Alum Rock’s superintendent.
“I was a product of a district like Alum Rock. It took a caring teacher … a caring counselor to motivate me and give me hope … that allowed me to get accepted into a college,” he said. “I’ve always looked for districts and schools I could contribute to and get them back on track.”
Cerda’s abrupt firing last month upset parents, faculty and other school community members. Interim Superintendent Emmanuel “Manny” Barbara said this is a “painful” experience.
“You get involved and emotionally involved with the district and then something like this happens. It’s hard to deal with,” he told San José Spotlight. “I’m disappointed if the allegations are true and I think (Cerda) is a person of integrity. I’m extremely disappointed and those funds need to be replaced.”
Cerda said he did everything he could to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure the appropriate people were aware of what he’d uncovered.
“But then I end up without a job,” he said. “Even though you know you may get fired … it’s still shocking. I keep on telling myself, ‘You did the right thing.’ You sign up to do things for the betterment of students, to improve their opportunities and open many doors for them. I just hope the district continues to move in the direction I set it.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].
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