WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday will discuss whether to censure trustee Georgia Acosta for several instances of misconduct during her time on the board.
A censure does not remove an elected official, but instead, serves as a powerful condemnation by one’s colleagues.
“I take no pleasure in bringing it forward, however for the board to continue with integrity I believe it’s necessary,” said Trustee Kim De Serpa, who brought the item forward.
Acosta did not respond to a request for comment Friday night. As a board member, she can vote on her censure.
The resolution to censure her lists several reasons. Among them: her frequent absences from the board’s biweekly meetings. She has missed a total of 26, according to the resolution, including one on March 3 during which the trustees discussed board governance and open meeting rules. In addition, she has left six meetings before they were over.
The resolution states that Acosta does not participate in any committees—a duty expected of board members. In addition, she routinely is the lone ‘no’ vote when the trustees extend meetings that are expected to last past 10pm.
Acosta is also accused of providing no notice to her fellow trustees that she was going to try to fire Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez, which happened on Jan. 27. That decision was reversed days later in a unanimous vote.
Acosta also used an unauthorized and unsecured platform to hold the closed-session meeting in which the trustees voted to fire Rodriguez, and did not allow Rodriguez to attend.
The resolution also states that Acosta divulged confidential information to a former employee and a community member about her plans to terminate Rodriguez, before any information was conveyed to other board members.
Acosta also racked up more than $16,000 in legal fees for an attorney who advised her during the Jan. 27 meeting, without approval from the rest of the board. The board recently voted 6-0, with Acosta absent, to not pay the bill.
In 2018, Acosta was accused of violating the Ralph M. Brown Act—a set of rules that regulate public meetings—when she called a meeting of trustees at a cafe. Under the act, elected officials cannot discuss official business outside of public meetings.
Acosta later failed to complete a training on the Brown Act, the resolution states.
The resolution also states that Acosta’s “behavior, language, and conduct toward District employees and the public failed to meet the professional standards for an elected representative.”
Two community groups have begun efforts to ask Acosta to resign, and possibly begin recall efforts.
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The PVUSD Board of Trustees will meet March 24 at 7pm. To watch it online click here or visit youtube.com/c/pvusdstreaming/live.
