Two Tucson USD board members are calling for an investigation into Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Two members of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board are calling for an investigation into Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo.

This is in response to serious allegations made in an anonymous “letter of censure” to the board.

The letter is approximately 16 pages long and dated April 26th.

It contains several serious allegations that criticize the way Trujillo runs the district.

Board members Sadie Shaw and Val Romero have different approaches.

Romero said he “is seeking a meaningful internal investigation within 30 days. After that period, we have enough factual information to either conduct further investigation or not.”

Shaw is calling for a government investigation by either the Attorney General’s Office or the Auditor General’s Office.

Investigate 13 messages spoke to Shaw.

She said she had heard some of the criticisms in the letter before, but felt they had reached a point where they could no longer be ignored.

TUSD Accountability Now sent the letter of censure against Trujillo to all but one board member.

Shaw said: “I think they are a new group. The letter says they are administrators who have had problems with the district.”

The letter’s authors said the group consists of about a dozen administrators with some input from school leaders and remains anonymous for fear of retaliation.

Investigate 13 messages asked Shaw if she thought the letter was genuine and replied: “You know, I’m very concerned about the allegations.”

One of the claims in the anonymous letter is that Trujillo only spends two days of the work week in Tucson.

According to the letter, Trujillo rents an apartment in the city and provides the address of a property he owns in Surprise, which is about two hours away.

Shaw said she had heard rumors “but never with the evidence provided, such as an address.” For that reason, I think we should investigate this further in an independent investigation. I think it would be difficult to do a good job as superintendent of such a large district when you are only in town for two days.”

A review of property records confirms Trujillo owns a home in Surprise Investigate 13 messages found no record of him owning any property in Pima County.

The letter also sets out serious allegations of misconduct.

Shaw said there needs to be a full review of the district and top administrators.

“I hope this would happen quickly if it came to that,” she said. “We cannot ignore concerns that could jeopardize our district and its leadership.”

Shaw and Romero issued press releases late Monday afternoon.

Shaw wrote in part: “Despite my efforts to convene an emergency meeting to discuss these allegations internally, my request was ignored. With this in mind, I am also calling for Superintendent Trujillo to be placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard practice when allegations are made against an employee. I want to emphasize the importance of ensuring continuity and stability within the District during this process and reiterate that an immediate investigation protects the interests of TUSD, stakeholders and defendants.”

Romero wrote: “I believe it is imperative to investigate the validity of these allegations. This issue is certainly a community concern and the Board cannot afford to ignore concerns that could jeopardize the integrity of our district. We (Shaw) therefore wish to be proactive in this matter and conduct due diligence to determine whether any of these allegations are factual.”

13 news It was decided early last week not to release the entire anonymous letter because it contains claims against several other district leaders.

Investigate 13 messages contacted the district on May 9th requesting an interview with Trujillo and received a response from the district late Monday, May 13th.

“In the Tucson Unified School District, we are deeply concerned about the circulation of an anonymous letter directed at our principal and other staff members – containing unsubstantiated allegations and malicious intent. The false allegations undermine the reputation of our dedicated education leaders and distract from our work to support our students and community. As a district administration, we remain focused on our mission to provide quality education and promote a safe and inclusive environment for all.”

Investigate 13 messages We will continue to address the contents of this letter and report on any developments.

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