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Board vote assigns trustees to commencement sites after heated exchange over 'bullying' allegations
Summary
A contentious discussion over which trustees would preside at high-school commencements culminated in two majority votes May 7 that assigned Trustee Dr. Luis Guzman to El Monte High and Trustee Ricardo Padilla to South El Monte High; the debate included accusations of bullying and a motion to end discussion.
Trustees debated and then voted on commencement assignments late in the May 7 meeting after several trustees requested particular sites. The discussion became heated when Trustee Ricardo Padilla accused Board President Florentia Briones of attempting to ‘bully’ trustees out of previously made requests; Padilla repeatedly called the behavior bullying and raised grievances about prior board conduct.
President Briones moved to end discussion and called the motion for a vote; Dr. Luis Guzman was assigned to El Monte High School by majority vote (3–1–1 with one abstention recorded). The board then voted to assign Trustee Padilla to South El Monte High School (motion carried 3–2). Trustee Quy Nguyen recorded a ‘no’ on the Guzman assignment vote; Trustee Padilla recorded strong disagreement in remarks but accepted the final assignment.
The exchange prompted multiple interruptions, points of order and a brief motion to end discussion. Trustees and the president spoke afterward to emphasize district unity and the need to represent graduations across sites. No formal policy change resulted from the vote; assignments are recorded in the meeting minutes and trustees were reminded to attend their assigned ceremonies.
