Editorial:

There is a saying that goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same!” This saying applies to the Sweetwater Union High School District with their recent hiring of Moises Aguirre. Moises is related to board member Arturo Solis, and now receives a hefty salary of $176,770 annually.

It surprises us that after years of scandal and controversy, after the election of a whole new board with promises of honesty and transparency, instead of a fresh new start, scandal-free board, this board, after only 5 months, has reverted to some of the past practices that plagued the old boards within the South Bay.

After years of scandal you would think that this new board, which replaced a board where five of its six members were charged and found guilty of corruption, they would have bent over backwards to avoid any major decision with an ethical dilemma attached to it. Instead three voting board members (one was absent and one recused himself) fully supported this hiring, leaving the question for the community that if this is okay then what next? Now credibility comes into question!

Full blame is not the board’s alone. The new interim-Superintendent, Philip Stover, who came from San Diego Unified and is well versed in the scandals that preceded him, should have been equally as sensitive to the quandary he placed at the feet of the board. Instead, he put his faith into his relationship with Aguirre. This was the same problem with the old board members that were charged with corruption: they put their faith into relationships with contractors and looked the other way when it came to questions of ethical standards.

Adding fuel to the fire of the community’s discontent is that, in essence, Aguirre does not possess the qualifications. He was a charter school manager at San Diego Unified and now he is an asstistant superintendent in charge of business services for the district. Further, there was no posting of the position and no interview process.

The more things change…..