Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Discipline topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oxnard Union trustees report dismissal of senior account technician after public hearing
Summary
After a public appeal by employee Cynthia Romero alleging procedural and records‑access problems, the Oxnard Union High School District board reported it voted in closed session to dismiss a senior account technician. The motion passed 4–0 with one trustee absent.
The Oxnard Union High School District board reported Jan. 15 that, following a public hearing and closed‑session deliberations, it voted to dismiss a senior account technician.
The board opened a public hearing after Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Matt LaBelle summarized the disciplinary and hearing history that led to a panel recommendation to dismiss. LaBelle said the district provided the board and the employee with the panel report, statements of charges, the hearing recording and related notices, and that the hearing panel found all nine charges upheld and recommended dismissal. "My recommendation that Ms. Romero be dismissed from employment and the reasons for it is set forth in the documents that have been provided to the board and to Ms. Romero," LaBelle said.
Cynthia Romero addressed the board before deliberations. Romero said she was preserving objections to significant procedural and due‑process issues and said she had been denied access to records she sought through California Public Records Act requests. "I do not believe the hearing provided a fair or meaningful opportunity to be heard," Romero said, adding that she had requested investigator reports and other documents that she said were withheld or delayed.
Trustees asked Romero clarifying questions about the missing reports and timeline. Romero said she received a small fraction of the records she requested, described delays and rescheduling of hearings in November and December 2025, and expressed concern that some reports had been manipulated.
The board then retired to closed session to deliberate. On reconvening, President Schaer announced the board "took action to dismiss a senior account technician." The notice described the motion as moved by Trustee Estrada, seconded by Trustee Baker Torres, with a roll call showing a four‑zero vote; Trustee Flores Haro was absent. The board did not provide additional public details about the deliberation in closed session.
The employee record presented to the board included notices of intent, statements of charges, a panel report dated Dec. 16, 2025, and Romero's appeal filed Dec. 18, 2025. LaBelle had described the panel process at the hearing and said the district had offered Romero the option to participate remotely in earlier proceedings; Romero said she declined or could not access some materials and did not participate in the panel hearing.
The board's action was reported as a formal closed‑session decision; the superintendent's office indicated any reportable action would be announced when the board returned to open session, which it did. The district did not provide additional personnel details at the meeting.
Next steps: the board's public announcement did not spell out appeal rights or timelines at the Jan. 15 meeting; Romero had stated she intended to preserve all rights and remedies under applicable law in her open‑session remarks.
