|
Politely speaking, I believe for some ... this might be referred to as the (EARMUFFS) fuck around and find out phase. I had prepared this writeup originally to send as an email to the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) leadership, given VC Superintendent César Morales is (or was) the chair of the board. However, I was told by a FCMAT board member that the FCMAT board received César's resignation this afternoon (June 5). That said, I think the way I laid it might be helpful for folks to really clearly understand the full picture in a straightforward way, especially if you haven't been keeping up or are trying to explain to someone why this isn't just a case of "administrative procedural mistakes." Now, before I dig into that, here's where we currently stand. As of the latest batch of election results published on June 4, César Morales remains in third place. Current vote counts:
For this seat, if a candidate doesn't receive 50% + 1 vote majority in the primary, then the top two candidates advance to the general election. For those who have asked, I am supporting Karen Sher for this seat. There are still approx. 86,000 ballots that remain to be counted per the County and the next vote update will be on June 9 at approx. 3 p.m. You can review voting results via VC Elections. Since election night, César Morales has unpublished his campaign website, turned off comments on his Instagram, and, I was told, did not show up to work the day after the election, along with most of his cabinet (executive) staff. If you want to refresh yourself on everything, or are new, I got you. In recent weeks, after numerous allegations were raised about a toxic workplace culture, inappropriate workplace relationships and misappropriation of funds, the following has been uncovered: Violations, at minimum, of ed codes (state law) EDC § 1209, 1302(a) and 1302(b), violation of the California Public Records Act, and questionable use of taxpayer funds for public gifts. Let’s break it down. EDC § 1209 VIOLATION "A county superintendent of schools shall not increase his or her salary, financial remuneration, benefits, or pension in any manner or for any reason without bringing the matter to the attention of the county board of education for its discussion at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the board and without the approval of the county board of education." On May 15, 2026, César Morales admitted to giving himself an undisclosed 5% payment in November 2024 — an amount of $15,750. He only disclosed this after legal intervention from the board of education ensued when I elevated concerns to the board. This was not only confirmed in a statement he published, but also independently confirmed by both the VC Star and VC Reporter, and then elevated by Ed Source. Additionally, payroll records I have since received confirm this payment occurred. This payment was not brought to the board for discussion nor approval and is in direct violation of state law. I will explore the nature of this payment further down. Relevant coverage: He has since removed the statement he published to the VCOE website on May 15, admitting this payment, but I’ve attached an image of it here. Although requests were submitted that the statement also be produced in Spanish, that never happened — despite his ability to produce his campaign statements in both English and Spanish without issue. I also take issue with the passivity of the statement. César did not "receive" a stipend. He gave himself a bonus — a nearly $16,000 undisclosed bonus from funds that were negotiated to support the represented employees (teachers, paraeducators, etc.) This statement does not reflect true accountability. It was not an administrative or clerical error. The act was intentional.  EDC § 1302 (a) VIOLATION (a) The county superintendent of schools shall not increase by ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more the salary or bonus of any employee of the county office of education unless the matter is brought to the attention of the county board of education for its discussion at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the county board of education. Since César’s appointment to VC Superintendent of Schools in April 2021, he granted several of his executive employees one-time off schedule payments that exceeded $10,000. These were not reported to the board for disclosure first, as per 1302. A note about these payments. These payments were not retroactive payments based on negotiated salary increases. These were separate one-time off schedule payments that had been negotiated by the bargaining units (unions) to support the represented employees, in the event that VCOE was able to identify carryforward funds after the books closed. The VCOE signees on the bargaining contracts were César's deputy superintendent of fiscal services, Misty Key, and his assistant superintendent of Human Resources, Juan Santos. VCOE successfully identified carryforward funds three consecutive years in a row (2022, 2023 and 2024). While not a past practice of superintendents previous to César as it relates to one-time payments, it appears that César took the “me too” approach with these payments, extending them to all cabinet level and director level staff. As it relates to his cabinet staff, four of his cabinet folks had payments that exceeded $10,000 in both 2022 and 2024. Cabinet staff do not have “me too” language specified in their employment contracts, and as you can imagine, there has been significant concern around the judgment of such a payment for executives making $270k, when these payments were negotiated for the union represented teachers, paraeducators, support personnel, etc. Cabinet Staff (Deputy, Associate and Assistant Superintendents) 2022 “Other Pay” Amounts (4% off-cycle payment)
2024 “Other Pay” Amounts (5% off-cycle payment)
This doesn’t even include director-level staff, many of whom received the 4% payment in 2022, another 4% payment in 2023, and the 5% payment in 2024. Due to salaries of director-level staff, several of these payments also exceeded that $10,000 threshold. Now, cabinet staff did not receive the 2023 4% payment … and I have a theory on that which I’ll get to shortly. This data can be confirmed not only by Transparent California reporting, but as the result of the payroll records I have obtained for cabinet staff. In addition to these one-time payments, salaries for these individuals increased significantly as well. Each time that deputy superintendent of fiscal services Misty Key (also a contracted consultant for FCMAT) successfully negotiated a raise on César’s behalf — his cabinet staff, whose salary is tied to his based on allocated percentages — also received significant pay raises. In 2021, upon his appointment, César landed a starting salary, with the help of data provided by Misty Key to the board, of $280,000. This was an approximately $34,000 increase in base salary from the previous superintendent. In 2023, a raise was advocated once more, increasing his pay by another 4.2% to $292,000. And then again, in 2024, he received a 7.8% raise, taking his pay to $315,000. While ultimately, the board shoulders responsibility for approving César’s salary, I believe that data manipulation occurred that skewed the comparison data presented to the board, which influenced the board to increase salary compensation. His cabinet members have salaries tied to his as follows:
Because of the structure of these contracts, these individuals saw large increases in base salary between 2021-current (upwards of $30-45,000 annual increases overall). This was never disclosed to the board. Many director level positions also saw base salary increases that exceeded $10,000, with some folks seeing pay increases as high as 40-50% between 2020-2024 (data period avail via Transparent California.) Again, never disclosed to the board. Now you may be thinking, what's the big deal? If he didn't have to get board approval, is it really a problem that he didn't disclose it? Transparency and accountability are all we have here, when the position is structured this way. Arguably, it's even worse that none of this was properly disclosed to the board, or the public, in a completely transparent way. Yes, as superintendent and sole employer of VCOE, he can make these salary decisions ... but we, as the voters, get to decide if we like the decisions he is making, and the way in which he is using taxpayer funds. That's why the disclosure part of this state law is so important. When the cabinet (exec) staff is compared to that of similar size county offices of ed, here is what is called out: By 2025 VCOE has:
That is a very robust executive tier for an office of VCOE's size. VCOE appears elevated:
EDC § 1302 (b) VIOLATION (b) The county superintendent of schools shall not increase the retirement benefits of any employee of the county office of education unless the matter is brought to the attention of the county board of education for its discussion at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the county board of education and the county board of education approves the increase. It was also discovered that in November 2023, César, instead of giving the cabinet folks the 4% off schedule payment other staff received, updated their contracts to grant them and their spouses lifetime benefits. During this contract update (when employment contracts had just been re-signed six months earlier), he also increased his deputy superintendent of fiscal services’ (Misty Key) salary from 92% to 96% of his salary. Given that Key is also César’s fiancée, I think there is a lot of explaining to do here. VCOE has not offered lifetime benefits since 1997, and this is clearly documented and stated in interim and budget reports. There are currently 13 remaining retirees who retired in 1996 and are grandfathered into lifetime benefits. Outside of that, no current employees are eligible for these benefits — and that is phrasing specifically outlined in the budget reports, tied to Fund 17 - Postemploymental Benefits fund. That same fund, during this timeframe, saw $3 million of transfers in — despite no liabilities or expenditures against it, and a reducing retiree pool with access to these benefits. All this, while leadership laid off most of the curriculum department and several long-time support staff, citing “lack of funding” and declining enrollment. On the conservative side, lifetime benefits paid out for 10 folks over a period of 25-30 years could have very well surpassed $9 million+ of taxpayer funds (based on today's insurance rates). This was never disclosed to the board, nor brought forth for approval. Relevant coverage: Now, the theory here, is that the cabinet staff NOT taking the one time payment in 2023, after it was granted for the represented employees, was strategic. It's believed that when cabinet staff received the first payment of 4% in 2022, it ruffled some feathers, raised some eyebrows among staff that felt that it wasn't appropriate. To dodge some of that scrutiny, the cabinet staff laid low in 2023, not taking the payment. And that's when, instead, their employment contracts were being quietly updated with lifetime benefits. Then, in 2024, after some of the initial stir over the 2022 payment had calmed down, they took part in the 2024 one time payment. And, at that time, César was bold enough to give it to himself as well ... hoping and assuming that because everyone was getting "something," people would be distracted. SO WHAT HAPPENED WHEN IT ALL CAME OUT As I was able to confirm the above and publish it, and have elevation support from local media, the board of education was working on their end to address the serious nature of these acts. On May 26, at the VCOE Board of Education meeting, the board of education voted to move forward on a full audit and investigation of finances under César’s administration. An ad hoc committee was formed, which includes trustees Mike Teasdale and Richard Lucas, who will make recommendations on consultants and auditors who will manage the investigation. You can read about the meeting, via VC Star, and here, via the Thousand Oaks Acorn. You can also read the Acorn's editorial on this. And while César, in a prepared statement, said that his actions had no fiscal impact because he had returned the bonus and had “voided” the lifetime benefits … arguably, there is significant financial impact. Not only did the return of these monies and cancellation of benefits happen by forced hand, they didn’t come for free. Taxpayers are funding legal counsel separately for both the Board of Education and for César, and will now be funding the investigation that must result. And let's not forget the folks whose jobs were eliminated while leadership was secretly stashing away millions to fund their lifetime benefits. Further, while he has since “voided” the benefits and informed his staff accordingly, time will tell if any of these executives pursue legal options based on signed employment contracts and promises.  TO GIFT OR NOT TO GIFT Each year, VCOE has an annual staff gathering. Under previous superintendent administrations, staff would receive a simple mug or simple water tin, with the VCOE logo on it. This changed drastically under César. Significant swag items were purchased that were also branded largely with César’s name. In 2025-26 Fiscal Year, based on the PO list I obtained from VCOE, here are at least two purchase orders that caught my eye related to this event. Thompsons Jewelry Pg 128 of 145 SITE 0930 All Staff Gathering 2026 Fund 010-5800 $51,399.56 Amicolor PG 138 of 145 SITE 0930 2026 All Staff Gathering FUND 010-5800 $48,678.10 A few questions I have. Current VCOE employees have stated they believe about 35-40 employees celebrated anniversaries this year. On anniversary years, these employees receive two gifts. This year, they had the option of picking a pendant (see attached pictures I was sent). And separately, they’re allowed to go to the online VCOE store and pick a second item. In addition, ALL employees have been receiving “swag bags” each year. The vendor used for a lot of VCOE branded swag, is Amicolor, Inc. As you will note on the PO descriptions above, both of these are specific to the 2026 all staff gathering. It appears that these gifts costs nearly $100,000. But here’s where it gets more curious. There was a lot of online criticism about César’s habit for putting his name on all items, ahead of annual staff day. Employees said 600 bags of swag items were placed on chairs, only for César to demand they be removed ahead of the event. No one received swag bags, and to date, we do not know what happened with all of this swag. In the past, swag has included umbrellas, yeti cups, picnic blankets, lunch coolers, totes, journals and beyond. (See sampling of photos sent for reference.) As it relates to the jewelry purchase, there is some confusion there. If it is specific to the pendants that approx. 40 employees received, how did this total $52,000? We have also discussed concerns of using these funds and swag items as a means of electioneering. What better way to establish name recognition than to use thousands of tax-payer dollars to brand items and signage with your name? Just to help provide some context on public employee recognition. I spoke to a local school district whose staff size is 2.5x the size of VCOE staff. This year, that local district had 196 employees that celebrated work anniversaries. The district spent $18,000 on plaques/framed certificates.     CONFLICT OF INTEREST Separately, I believe the relationship between Cesar Morales, and his deputy superintendent of fiscal services, Misty Key, warrants discussion. When folks raised concern to César about potential conflicts of interest related to his relationship with the #2 person at VCOE, he responded by stating that legal counsel advised him there was no conflict so long as he didn’t directly evaluate her work. First, are we to believe that even if he thought she was doing a poor job, he would fire his fiancée? On its face, that’s preposterous. Second, employment contracts aren’t tied to performance, but strictly to a percentage of César’s pay … which begs the question on just how evaluations are administered. But he’s the sole employer. He can do “whatever” he wants, and he said it himself. But here’s the bigger issue. As a result of this alleged legal consultation, César’s solution was to promote associate superintendent Lisa Salas Brown to a second deputy superintendent role. For a Class III county, this executive administration is not only top-heavy in personnel, but aggressively compensated compared to similar peers. This relationship directly led to a significant promotion and pay increase for another employee. César also has not one, but two assistants. And also created a duplicative role in HR for his friend and current HR Superintendent Juan Santos — whose own actions have resulted in several districts no longer participating in all-county HR meetings, citing inappropriate comments and behavior perpetuated by Santos. That aside, the relationship itself has the potential to expose VCOE to significant liability should it sour. What would stop Key from pursuing legal means or claiming retaliation if any negative job impacts were to occur during César’s tenure should the relationship face difficulties? TO FRAUD OR NOT TO FRAUD ... When I was reviewing the FCMAT website last night, I happened to come across their presentations page on their website. I was very interested to see that they have a presentation on fraud. In the presentation, they cite certain categories of fraud, including "GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS OR BENEFITS FRAUD" and "EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES FRAUD." Now, I'm not alleging anything ... I'm just sharing information. Here are some of the slides from that presentation. KEEP IT SECRET, KEEP IT SAFE? When these allegations were first brought to me, I filed a PRA request on April 21 seeking payroll data and employment contracts for cabinet staff. I didn't receive my first response until May 5 (past the 10-day response period as stated by law). And, I only received this response because I escalated it to the VC Board of Education. After that, César — instead of reassuring his board and providing them with the data to disprove the allegations — lawyered up, told his staff the devil was after him, and asked for prayers. Additionally, César's fiancée, Misty, told staff they were going to "find the mole" that was "leaking" me all of the information. There were also rumors that staff were being asked to turn over their text messages. Real morale boosters, if ya ask me! On May 5, when Misty responded to my PRA, she indicated that they would need 14 more days to review it. 14 days came and went, without a response. I attempted several followups, without response. Finally, I once again looped in the board of education. As a result, trustee Richard Lucas took a day off of work, on May 22, and went to VCOE, and sat there for eight hours, insisting they fill my PRA request. Eventually, their hand was forced and they turned over some of the data, which included salary schedules ... and most importantly, the employment contracts! That was a dramatic day. Richard called me in the morning to ask if I had received a response, to which I indicated no, I had not. I'm getting messages from folks a half hour later that he was at the office having an "elevated" conversation with VCOE's director of comms, Dave Schermer, by the front lobby. He had to stake out, and work from one of the offices there, while forcing their hand. Because he is a trustee, he has authority to have access to this data immediately — he doesn't need a PRA request, so they couldn't ignore him in the way they were me. When I heard he was there, I texted: DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. This was not part of their plan, I'll tell you that. After a group of local superintendents called César earlier that week to rescind their endorsement, I was told that he had admitted to those superintendents that he had given lifetime benefits as a "retention" tool, when they grilled him on the allegations. Yeah ... he knew what we would find would be a pretty big problem if we ever got our hands on it. I was told that he declared to those around him that I would have to take him to court to get the employment contracts. I don't believe we would have gotten this information before the election, let alone without legal recourse, until well after the primary. I'm told that folks in the office heard Juan complaining: "There go my lifetime benefits," after it all went down. It was that evening that I released that information, publicly. Folks were doing backflips to try and defend César's undisclosed bonus ... but how would these folks feel now, learning about the lifetime benefits? The following week, VCOE at first refused to fill the remainder of my request (which included compensation records and purchase orders). Then, they pretended they were going to fill it and had me drive down to the office to pick up ... another set of the same records I had already received from them on Friday. At this point, I was done with the game playing and informed them that I would use every legal avenue at my disposal if necessary. The remainder of the requested documents were magically ready for me the next morning. If you have nothing to hide ... why are you making it so hard for the public to access records that fall under the California Public Records Act? Why are you releasing statements saying you are committed to transparency while intentionally hiding information from the public? And why is your fiancée sending thinly veiled threats via email?  Beyond all of this, I would be really interested to learn more about the cabinet floor renovation César allegedly commissioned. I'm told that the renovation included new or office expansions for all cabinet folks, as well as significant expansion of his office, and the addition of a private kitchen just for cabinet staff.
If you're wondering why I started researching César, it actually had nothing to do with any of this. There had long been multiple allegations of sexual harassment against César and I felt I wanted to get a better understanding of those allegations, especially in the aftermath of the Eric Swalwell revelations. I believe the survivors. And as I spoke to them, I was connected to additional individuals — now having surpassed some 60 folks (former and current VCOE employees) and education leaders county wide — that ultimately revealed the concerns covered in this piece. I believe these findings are just the tip of the iceberg. While there is much to be uncovered, thanks to the brave whistleblowers that trusted me with this information, board of education members who took these concerns seriously (Rachel Ulrich, Mike Teasdale, Richard Lucas), and media who helped elevate the news once it broke ... voters had the opportunity to vote informed this election season. Had this gone unnoticed ... César Morales, and those who conspired with him, could have successfully diverted millions of the dollars away from students into their bank accounts. Voters spoke up clearly: it's time for César — and anyone who participates in fiscal malfeasance — to go.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Anonymous MommyArchives
May 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
