TUCSON, Arizona — An Arizona high school principal admitted on Facebook he changed the grades of seniors at the school, but claims his supervisor directed him to take that action.
The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board of Pueblo High School in Arizona have voted to release a district report on the incident that has been kept confidential.
The board released the following report:
The governing board is set to vote Wednesday, March 28 on whether to release a portion of the report by the law firm hired by the district.
Pueblo High School principal Auggie Romero has come under fire in recent years over a grade changing scandal. He's been on the hot seat after a teacher came forward to E.W. Scripps television station KGUN in Tucson — that Romero changed several seniors grades without her consent — a violation of state law. And she provided proof — her grade sheets.
"This is something that has never happened before in my 31 years as a teacher," said Yolanda Sotelo in 2016.
Romeo even admitted on Facebook he changed the grades, but claimed his supervisor, Abel Morado, directed him to take that action.
KGUN obtained a scathing memo written by Morado, who stated that wasn't the case. He stated that he had reminded Romero he needed to get the teacher to change grades and Romero's "failure to comply with the very simple directive caused all of the controversy."
The memo also reveals the Deconcini law firm investigated the allegations and found Romero "did change the student's grades."
KGUN requested the document through a public records request, but the district declined citing attorney-client privilege.
Now the board is voting on whether to release the findings "concerning potential violations of the law: improper grade-changing, improper promotion, and discrimination.
