Bonita School Board Fires Superintendent

Saying its action was for “good and just cause” the Bonita school board fired Supt. Ronald P. Raya, who has been on leave and under investigation by the district for several months.

Bonita Unified School District board President Robert Orlander II announced the firing Thursday after the board met for three hours behind closed doors to vote on terminating Raya’s employment contract, which was to expire in five months.

“The action was taken to terminate Dr. Raya for good and just cause,” Orlander said. Orlander declined to provide a detailed explanation, citing Raya’s privacy--despite public criticism that the board was not forthcoming about the reasons for the superintendent’s departure.

But the firing came as a surprise to few. Last month, the district, which includes schools in San Dimas and La Verne, hired a search firm to find a replacement by April.

Raya’s attorney did not return calls Friday seeking comment.

On Sept. 16, the board placed him on paid administrative leave amid an investigation of unspecified allegations. School officials refused to provide details, citing employee confidentiality. A month later, in a claim for damages against the district, Lorna L. Horton, assistant superintendent of instruction, alleged that Raya sexually harassed her by placing a bag of condoms on her desk, making sexual remarks and engaging in nonconsensual touching. Horton also alleged in her claim that Raya sexually harassed other employees.

That claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, was followed by another one by Assistant Supt. Peter M. Schiff, in which he alleged that Raya made false comments about him to prospective employers in other districts. Horton’s and Schiff’s claims were denied by the district.