TOPPENISH, Wash. -John Cerna Senior's non-disciplinary leave, as announced by the Toppenish School District, is the latest wrinkle added to the Cerna family's investigation, dating back to September of 2019.
The Washington State Auditor's Office began an audit on the school district on September 1, 2019, and ran through August 31, 2021. When the audit was released in November 2022, the Auditor's Office found multiple red flags, starting with Superintendent John Cerna Sr.
The audit revealed multiple cases of expenses on the district's credit card from Cerna with no receipts or documentation on the expenditure.
It was also reported that the superintendent would take trips with coworkers, with no explanation of why the trip was taking place.
Cerna Sr. also received two pay raises that were improperly set. Raises were supposed to be placed as an amendment in Cerna's contract, but no proof could be found for either of his $7,530 and $8,929 raises.
The audit then found fault within Senior's son, Johnny Cerna Jr, former Vice Principal. It was reported that Cerna Jr. was being paid as the school's wrestling coach, despite being on administrative leave during this time.Â
On May 23, 2021, Cerna Jr. and his wife, Bertha Cerna, were placed on leave following allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and providing drugs and alcohol to students.Â
On July 27, 2021. Cerna Jr's position as wrestling coach was approved, despite no contract being signed.Â
On January 20, 2021, Cerna was fired and then received full payment for his position as the school district tried to avoid a possible lawsuit.
In September, a school district administrator, Brenda Mallonee, filed a complaint and subsequently sued Cerna Sr. and the school district for violating multiple state laws.Â
Mallonee reported she smelled alcohol on Johnny Cerna Jr. multiple times while on campus round students. She reported the incidents to John Cerna Sr., who claimed he would take care of it but never took action.
Cerna Sr. gave Mallonee lower rankings in the end of the school year evaluations, adding a comment that read:
"When I empower people I trust, I expect them to be loyal and get their job done... I recommend for the future that Brenda learns to stay in her lane."
As of now, investigations are still ongoing.Â
Bertha Cerna is scheduled for trial in April 2023.Â
John Cerna Sr. is still under investigation from the school district. Board of Director's President, Elese Washine will direct the investigations. Former Assistant Superintendent, Shawn Myers, has been named Acting Superintendent while Cerna is on leave.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.