With less than a week until California’s primary election, new details have emerged about Fresno County Superintendent of Schools candidate Dr. Johnny Alvarado.<\/p>\n
He is running for the position and told Action News last week that he has 30 years of experience in education.<\/p>\n
“I’m the only candidate that has worked in seven different school districts,” Alvarado said. “I’m actually well known about to Fresno County, to be sure.”<\/p>\n
A document recently obtained by Action News raises questions about Alvarado’s work history.<\/p>\n
It shows that in 2022, partway through the school year, Alvarado signed a separation agreement, leaving his job as Selma Unified’s Chief Academic Officer.<\/p>\n
“Have you ever been placed on administrative leave or had a separation agreement with a former employer?” Action News asked Alvarado last Tuesday before receiving the document.<\/p>\n
“What I’m going to say is that I have never, never had a bad evaluation. I have never been written up. I have never been disciplined,” Alvarado said.<\/p>\n
The agreement shows a $13,000 monthly payout for up to nine months and states it is not an admission of wrongdoing by any party.<\/p>\n
Alvarado is in a race against incumbent Dr. Michele Cantwell-Copher and former Clovis Unified Superintendent Dr. Eimear O’Brien. Both were asked the same question.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never been placed on administrative leave. I’ve never had any kind of separation agreement,” O’Brien told Action News.<\/p>\n
“Never ever, ever,” Cantwell-Copher said.<\/p>\n
Months after entering the race, Alvarado left Parlier Unified. He said he did so to focus on the campaign.<\/p>\n
“To honor both entities (the) education entity and the campaign itself, I made the decision to retire for that reason,” he said about his decision last Tuesday. But there is speculation that he retired after being placed on leave, something he denied during the interview. “I made the decision to retire.<\/p>\n
I have the paperwork to show that, if needed, I have no problem showing that,” he said.<\/p>\n
In an email, Parlier Unified confirmed that Alvarado retired from the district.<\/p>\n
Officials did not answer a follow-up question about whether there had been any leave beforehand.<\/p>\n
Alvarado responded on Wednesday, reiterating that he’s always received positive evaluations and promotions.<\/p>\n
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