A citizens committee has filed a lawsuit in Shasta County Superior Court against the Gateway Unified School, asking a judge to force the district’s board of trustees to follow its own policies in hiring a new superintendent. The board voted Jan. 18 to bypass the procedure, known as board policy 2120, for hiring a new superintendent. That process would include recruiting for a superintendent, screening applicants and conducting interviews. Emails obtained through a California Public Records Act request indicate that the board’s president, Cherrill Clifford in December signed a contract to hire Bryan Caples of Redding as the district’s superintendent, without first obtaining board approval. Caples has had his administrative and teaching credential suspended by the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing. In addition to the district, the suit filed by the Gateway Citizens Committee also names the three trustees who voted to bypass board policy, namely board President Cherrill Clifford and Elias and Lindsi Haynes. The policy is known as board policy 2120. Neither Clifford or Elias and Lindsi Haynes could be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. The trustees have had other legal threats leveled against it during the past month. For the past several weeks the district has […]
