Governing board orders notice, designates hearing officer after statement of charges against teacher

The Santa Cruz Valley Unified District governing board voted on Nov. 18 to proceed toward a formal disciplinary hearing after the district presented a statement of charges against a teacher identified in the meeting record as Nathan (surname inconsistently transcribed).

Superintendent David Verdugo told the board it had received a written statement of charges and asked the board both to find cause to dismiss if the allegations were true and to authorize notice and a hearing. "I hereby present the governing board with the statement of charges against teacher Nathan [last name variably transcribed], and request the governing board take the common actions relative to the statement of charges," the superintendent said during his presentation.

A board member moved that the allegations "would constitute good cause for the dismissal"; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor (the president announced "Ayes have it"). The board then voted to provide the teacher notice of its intent to dismiss and to designate a hearing officer. By motion, the board named Harold Mercau as the hearing officer with Clyde Dangerfield as an alternate if Mercau is unavailable. The board and administration clarified that the teacher will have 10 calendar days after receiving notice to request a hearing.

The board's action at the Nov. 18 meeting was procedural: it found that the written allegations—if proven in a hearing—would constitute cause and established the next steps in the process. The board did not hold a disciplinary hearing at the meeting, did not discuss the evidence in open session, and did not issue a final employment decision. The record includes multiple variant spellings of the teacher’s surname; the transcript uses several different transcriptions of that name. The district is the only party identified in the meeting record as bringing charges and the board followed the district’s recommended administrative process for notice and hearing officer appointment.

The next procedural step is for the district to provide formal notice to the teacher and, if the teacher requests a hearing within the stated timeframe, for the hearing officer to schedule and convene a hearing, take evidence and prepare a recommended record for the board’s consideration. The board voted on the motions in open session and announced their passage during the meeting.