Trustee’s Drug Arrest Spurs Call to Resign

Fellow school board members, principals and community leaders are calling on Trustee Ray Gonzales to resign after his arrest on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale.

“He needs to resign and get his own life back in order,” said Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn, who represents Oxnard and is a friend of Gonzales. “It would be good for Ray and good for the school district.”

Gonzales, 42, a first-term member of the Oxnard Elementary School District’s board, pleaded not guilty Friday to felony charges of possessing methamphetamine for sale and transport.

Gonzales was arrested Wednesday night at Channel Islands Boulevard and Ventura Road in Oxnard on an outstanding warrant for violation of probation, authorities said. When police officers searched his car, they found about 4 1/2 grams of methamphetamine.

In September, Gonzales was found guilty of misdemeanor spousal battery after his wife was cut by a broken window during an argument at their home earlier in the year. He was placed on probation for three years.

Supt. Richard Duarte said Friday that he is frustrated and hurt by Gonzales’ actions, and wants to get the situation resolved quickly. But if the trustee refuses to resign, that may be difficult.

The school district can remove Gonzales from office only if he is convicted of a felony, or a misdemeanor related to his duties as a school board member, according to the California School Boards Assn. He was elected in 1998, and his term expires in 2002.