四虎影院

NPR for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Suspended Grand Prairie superintendent sues district and trustees ahead of expected firing

A portrait of Grand Prairie ISD Superintendent Jorge Arredondo. He's wearing a blue plaid suit and green tie.
Grand Prairie ISD
Grand Prairie Superintendent Jorge Arredondo is suing the district and board of trustees after he was placed on administrative leave last month.

Suspended Grand Prairie ISD Superintendent Jorge Arredondo has obtained a to block the school board from possibly firing him during Thursday鈥檚 school board meeting.

Arredondo Monday alleging the district and its trustees violated his contractual and constitutional rights when they placed him on leave last month after just several weeks on the job. The trustees voted 4 to 2 to say Arredondo violated a district policy regarding discrimination.

Arredondo's attorney Mary Nix told 四虎影院 he wasn't given a chance to respond to the accusation.

"We don鈥檛 have any information about what he has been accused of, so he has no way to defend himself and it is vital that due process is observed," she said.

She said she's surprised by the circumstances surrounding the entire incident just three months into his tenure.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine what might be the cause for the board鈥檚 actions," she said.

The lawsuit alleges Arredondo was the target of discrimination himself by some trustees. His petition states he faced early "resistance and interference" from some board members.

"Instead of supporting Arredondo in his work to improve the district, which is what he was hired to do," the trustees "began denigrating Arredondo and both made disparaging remarks about [his] race, national origin, and language... ."

A spokesperson for GPISD told 四虎影院 in an email the district hasn鈥檛 been served legal documents related to the matter but that 鈥渁s a public entity, we respect the legal process and will review any formal filings once they are received.

"The district is committed to acting in the best interests of our students, staff and community, and will respond to any legal matters appropriately through the court system.鈥

The temporary restraining order granted Monday prevents the Grand Prairie school board from considering or possibly voting on Arredondo鈥檚 possible dismissal during Thursday evening鈥檚 school board meeting. A hearing on a temporary injunction has been set for Oct. 28.

Bill Zeeble is 四虎影院鈥檚 education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X .

四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider . Thank you.

Bill Zeeble has been a full-time reporter at 四虎影院 since 1992, covering everything from medicine to the Mavericks and education to environmental issues.