A Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District trustee, Matthew Short, is suing the district he represents in an effort to restore his access to district property and funds, court records show.
Background of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit is in response to a February vote by fellow SCUCISD board members, restricting Short from using district funds or facilities, with the exception of scheduled board meetings. This decision was made following an employment dispute with Judson ISD, where Short was accused of abandoning several children on November 17 at Salinas Elementary, where he taught.
Short was placed on leave by Judson ISD on November 19, barring him from all Judson ISD classrooms. The SCUCISD board meeting video from February showed trustees voted 6-1 to restrict Short, with Short being the lone elected trustee who voted against the decision.
During that February meeting, SCUCISD School Board President Letticia Sever said she asked Short to resign as a result of the negative attention surrounding his employment dispute with Judson ISD and the challenges it was creating for the SCUCISD board and district.
Short was also censured by the board in May, which is a public reprimand. In late April, Short resigned from Judson ISD, and records show he is not eligible to be rehired by the district.
Lawsuit Details
According to the lawsuit, Short said the employment issue with Judson ISD did not arise from his service on the SCUCISD Board and did not involve a finding by SCUCISD that he violated a trustee policy or failed to perform a trustee duty.
Records show Short believes the restrictions have made it harder for him to perform ordinary trustee duties. The lawsuit states Short is treated as a restricted board member, while allowing other trustees access, adding that he now has to request public information and is no longer given access to an open records request log provided to other trustees.
The lawsuit states the restrictions have also prevented Short from attending events such as graduation and denied him from getting training provided to other trustees. Court records state the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD board has declined to rescind Short’s restriction.
According to the lawsuit, Short is asking a judge to suspend the restriction, restore his access to the district’s public information request log, and allow him to access district property for legitimate official trustee duties.
Our focus is on providing a high-quality education for the students we serve, said Deanna Jackson, SCUCISD’s executive director of communications. These proceedings are a matter of public record, and we believe they speak for themselves.
Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
