Turmoil over a chaotic Hacienda La Puente Unified School District board meeting last month has led to the ouster of its controversial president.
The removal of Stephanie Serrano and reorganization of the board was the one item on the agenda of the three-hour Wednesday, Sept. 3, meeting for the district, which serves more than 30,000 students in 31 schools in La Puente, West Covina, City of Industry and unincorporated sections of Hacienda Heights, Valinda and Avocado Heights.
It is the latest in a series of controversies in the school district, which includes lawsuits and public accusations of district wrongdoing, misspending of school funds, and complaints of personal attacks and harassment among the five-member board.
On Wednesday, a defiant Serrano couched her removal in terms of being targeted for asking questions and being a “whistleblower.”
“That’s all I’ve been doing, is trying to bring truth to light,” she said.
“I’m doing the right thing for whistleblowing, and waving the red flag for the corruption going on,” she said, noting that she’s simply been trying to streamline board meetings and keep her board accountable.
But a tipping point came at a meeting last month.
Serrano’s removal is a consequence of the unprecedented nature of what happened at the Aug. 28 board meeting, which saw Serrano having board member Gino Kwok removed, and in which board member Jeffrey De La Torre walked out.
The meeting began with Serrano refusing board member Nancy Loera’s request to attend the meeting via Zoom because she had already used one of two specific Americans with Disabilities accommodations twice. Loera later said she tried to explain that the district told her to use the wrong justification, and when she realized this and tried to explain, Serrano did not given her a chance to speak.
After Serrano did not grant the accommodation, Loera asked to speak and Kwok raised his hand to speak.
“We don’t have time to go back and forth, I am the chair so that’s what that is,” Serrano said, warning Kwok that he was speaking out of order before ordering a district police officer to remove and cite him.
While this was happening, De La Torre raised his hand but was not acknowledged. He then announced he was walking out with Kwok because he was not allowed to speak.
That meeting ended after about nine minutes because of the lack of a quorum.
Dani Tucker, president of the Hacienda La Puente Teachers Association, told the group on Wednesday to “please knock it off.”
“Last meeting’s absurdity caused staff not to be approved for money due to them, for people not to be hired for roles we desperately need, for the business of the district to not get done,” Tucker said, noting the teachers’ union has not sided with any board member through the hours-long, contentious meetings that has marked Hacienda La Puente School District meetings for months.
Tucker admonished the group to stop bringing up past issues, interrupting each other, maligning each other on social media and focus on district students.
“I have tried to stay out of your nonsense,” Tucker said, adding the board should work together and make decisions, show respect for all, and be civil.
Then came this week.
The motion removing Serrano from the presidency passed 3-1, with De La Torre, Loera, and Kwok voting yes, Adriana Quinones voting no and Serrano abstaining. The motion to install Kwok as the group’s president passed 3-1. De La Torre, Loera and Kwok voted yes, with Serrano voting nay and Quinones abstaining.
Serrano will remain on the board.
At the same meeting, Quinones was appointed vice president and Loera voted clerk.
Community members have described district board meetings as a dysfunctional, embarrassing and a “complete joke,” bemoaning Serrano’s violations of parliamentary procedures, and describing her as autocratic and disruptive.
Serrano’s supporters said she has been sabotaged from the time she was elected in 2024.
Margaret Caldera, chapter president of the California School Employees Association (CSEA 115), called the removal a calculated effort and that Serrano was “baited, pushed and set up to fail.”
“This is not about removing an officer, this is about silencing a voice that stood for accountability, fairness and transparency, pushing aside someone who challenged the status quo, didn’t play a political game and refused to be controlled,” Caldera said.
Students from Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights and president of its band boosters spoke up to support De La Torre, Kwok and Loera.
Valerie Lopez, a sophomore, acknowledged them as leaders they can look up to.
“By choosing to stand up and walk out, you showed us that integrity and justice mean more than simply going along with what’s wrong,” she told De La Torre, who said he voted to oust Serrano because of “actions unbecoming of a president.”
Serrano appeared at the Sept. 3 meeting via Zoom because of what she said were “health issues related to harassment” from Kwok and Loera.
She also said her ouster is about upcoming investigations on corruption within the district.
“I’m going to keep doing the great work I’ve been doing for the community,” Serrano said, for the “fans who are obsessed with me because I’m actually what a real leader looks like.”
Quinones, who started her first term on the board with Serrano, said the reorganization can be a new beginning for the beleaguered district, which most recently saw the departure of Superintendent Alfonso Jiménez. Jiménez, who joined the school district in 2020, ended his tenure in June and now leads Culver City Unified School District.
Acting superintendent Douglas Kimberly assumed that role this month.
