Cortez Quinn may not be the president of the Twin Rivers Unified School District for long.
After contentious debate Tuesday night, the school board voted unanimously to put an item on a future agenda to consider removing Quinn as president.
Board member Rebecca Sandoval put the motion to the board. She quoted a report from the California Fair Political Practices Commission dated Feb. 28 that said Quinn illegally accepted more than $55,000 in personal loans from a school employee in 2010 and 2011 and did not report them on financial disclosure forms. The FPPC fined Quinn $14,000.
At the time of the loans, Quinn was the district director for Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, a position that also required annual financial disclosure forms. Dickinson parted ways with Quinn in August for undisclosed reasons, calling it a "personnel matter."
In addition to the loans, Quinn also illegally accepted a $4,000 gift from an employee, according to the report. The Political Reform Act prohibits elected officers of local government agencies from receiving personal loans of more than $250 from employees and gifts of more than $420.
Sandoval also said Quinn took a loan from the district's teachers union, calling it a "conflict of interest." The accusation was vehemently denied by teachers union officials. "Frankly, if I hear it again, I'll litigate it," said John Ennis, the union's president.
"I'm thankful for this discussion. It's a long time coming," Quinn said after the vote. "This is a distraction to the district and I hope we can move forward to educate our kids. I'm looking forward to continuing as president of this body. I'm thankful my colleagues voted me into this position."
– Diana Lambert
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