Bassett Schools Chief Fights Suspension Bid by State

Bassett Unified School District Supt. Linda Gonzales has requested an administrative law judge to hear her case after a state committee recommended that her teaching and administrative credentials be suspended for one year, her attorney said Tuesday.

The recommendation stems from complaints by Bassett school board member Brenda Johnson filed with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing last year, alleging that Gonzales did not disclose a financial interest in a firm that conducted business with the district and that she gave an incomplete report to the school board about a fire near a school.

After an investigation, the committee found probable cause to forward a recommendation to the commission that Gonzales be suspended, said Nanette F. Rufo, the panel’s professional practices coordinator. Rufo said the reasons for the recommendation will not be made public by the commission, which makes the final decision.

Johnson said she complained about the superintendent’s link to a firm that sold the district materials and Gonzales’ actions after an industrial fire near Torch Magnet School in 1993.

Attorney John Wagner said Gonzales exercised her right to have an administrative hearing rather than have the commission decide the case. “It is all bunk. They cannot prove it. It’s all political,” he said.

Gonzales is listed in State Board of Equalization records as the co-owner of Binet International, a firm she owns with her husband, Moses Gonzales, according to Johnson’s complaint. Bassett Unified records show that Binet International has sold more than $10,000 in bilingual books and tapes to the district since 1989, when Gonzales was employed as assistant superintendent for curriculum.

Gonzales did not list the firm on her statement of financial interest between 1989 and 1995, records show. State law requires all such ownership to be declared. Johnson also has alleged that Gonzales failed to tell the board that students complained of nausea after the chemical fire.