Sweetwater counselor asks board to expunge unsubstantiated investigation from personnel file

Liza Beth Lewontin Garcia, a counselor at Sweetwater High with more than 25 years in the district, told the board she was the subject of a formal investigation that concluded the allegations were unsubstantiated and asked the board to remove the report from her personnel file.

Lewontin Garcia said the district did not provide dates, specific behaviors or other particulars supporting claims of non‑collegiality, and that keeping an unsubstantiated report in a permanent file prejudices a veteran employee’s record. She cited administrative regulation 13.12.1 and asked that the board ensure due process includes direct conversation with staff before launching formal probes.

The request came during the public‑comment period; Lewontin Garcia described prior positive evaluations, awards for counseling excellence, and a lack of prior disciplinary coaching. She said a recommended step in an appeal—meeting with her principal—had not produced named examples of the alleged conduct.

Board members and Superintendent Marcela Aguirre later said the district would review the matter. Aguirre noted privacy constraints and that some details of personnel matters may not be publicly reportable, but said staff would investigate and follow appropriate procedures. The board also reported during a later announcement that it had upheld an administrator’s findings under AR 13.12.1 in a closed‑session action; the board provided vote tallies for closed‑session personnel motions but did not disclose specifics in open session.

The counselor’s request was for immediate expungement of the unsubstantiated report and for the board to require staff to engage in restorative conversations before invoking formal investigations. The district indicated it would investigate and said it may be constrained in what it can say publicly about personnel matters.