Ref Rodriguez  | |
|---|---|
   Rodriguez in 2017  | |
| Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for the 5th district | |
| In office May 19, 2015 –July 23, 2018  | |
| Preceded by | Bennett Kayser | 
| Succeeded by | Jackie Goldberg | 
| President,Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education | |
| In office July 7,2017 –September 19,2017  | |
| Preceded by | Steve Zimmer | 
| Succeeded by | Monica Garcia | 
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1972 (age 52–53) Cypress Park,Los Angeles  | 
| Alma mater |  Fielding Graduate University (PhD)  Loyola Marymount University (B.A.)  | 
| Criminal charge | One felony count each of conspiracy  [1]  25 misdemeanor counts of assumed name contribution [2]  | 
| Penalty | Three years’probation,60 days of community service | 
Refugio Rodriguez (born 1972) is an American educator and politician,who served as President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education in 2017. He served as a member of the Board from 2015 until his resignation in 2018,and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Santa Ana College. [3]
Rodriguez grew up in Cypress Park,Los Angeles and was the first of five children of Mexican immigrants to graduate from college,earning a bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University and a PhD from Fielding Graduate University. [4]
He returned to his home neighborhood after college to co-found Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC),a public charter school program,with Jacqueline Elliot. [5] [6] He also lectured at Loyola Marymount University and was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in 2013. [7] [8]
In November 2014,Rodriguez announced that he would be running for a seat in the Board of Education and raised $50,000 during the first campaign reporting period. [9] He ran against incumbent Bennett Kayser and Andrew Thomas,a professor at Walden University. [10] He maintained that he would do more for the District than pander to charter schools. [11]
On July 7,2017,Rodriguez was elected as the president of the Board of Education by a 4–3 vote. The four votes were newly elected members Kelly Gonez and Nick Melvoin,reelected member Mónica García,and Rodriguez himself. [12] [13]
LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey charged Rodriguez with three felony charges of conspiracy,perjury,and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument. The case was linked back to Rodriguez's bid for the board in 2014,with he and cousin Elizabeth Tinajero Melendrez reimbursing $25,000 to his campaign donors,most of whom were family and friends. [14] In January 2015,Rodriguez reported in his first campaign disclosure statement that more than $51,000 had come from family,friends,and other people,but half actually had come from himself. [15] On September 20,2017,the United Teachers Los Angeles called for the resignation of Rodriguez. [16]
On September 19,2017,Rodriguez stepped down as president amid charges of perjury and other felonies. Although stepping down,he remained on the board. [17] On October 24,2017,he pleaded not guilty to the charges. [18] On July 23,2018,Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy and four misdemeanor counts,and as part of a deal with prosecutors,resigned from office. [19] Ten candidates ran to replace Rodriguez, [20] and he was replaced by Jackie Goldberg in 2019. [21]
In March,2023,Rodriquez was hired by Santa Ana College as the head of Career Education/Dual Enrollment amid community criticism. [22]
On October 13,2017,a conflict of interest complaint was filed against Rodriguez by a charter school network that he founded. [23] A week later,on October 24,2017,the California Fair Political Practices Commission closed the case,citing his conspiracy charges filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. [24] The conflict of interest case did not have any relation to his felony case. [25]
On March 16,2018,Rodriguez was arrested at The Paseo at around 4:30 p.m. for suspicion of public intoxication. [26] [27] He was released without being charged or cited,with Rodriguez thanking the officers for "being kind and seeing this for the non- event that it was.” [28] [29]
| Primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Ref Rodriguez | 10,355 | 38.6 | |
| Bennett Kayser (incumbent) | 9,510 | 35.5 | |
| Andrew Thomas | 6,946 | 25.9 | |
| Total votes | 26,811 | 100.00 | |
| General election | |||
| Ref Rodriguez | 14,201 | 53.3 | |
| Bennett Kayser (incumbent) | 12,421 | 46.7 | |
| Total votes | 26,622 | 100.00 | |
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