Garcia v. San Benito Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist.

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JACK GARCIA, Plaintiff, v. SAN BENITO CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-20

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Brownsville Division

November 14, 2022

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Ronald G. Morgan, United States Magistrate Judge.

On February 11, 2021, Plaintiff Jack Garcia filed a civil rights complaint against Defendant San Benito Consolidated Independent School District (“SBCISD”). Dkt. No 1. As the Court reads the complaint, Garcia has raised three claims: (1) SBCISD retaliated against him for his political speech supporting his aunt's campaign for SBCISD trustee (2) SBCISD retaliated against him because of his political association with his aunt, who was disliked by several members of the board; and (3) SBCISD retaliated against him for filing a grievance, contesting the written disciplinary action against him. Dkt. No. 1, p. 14.

SBCISD has filed a motion for summary judgment, which is currently pending before the Court. Dkt. No. 30. The motion is fully briefed. Dkt. Nos. 35, 36.

After reviewing the record and the relevant case law, it is recommended that the motion for summary judgment be granted. As to the claims regarding political speech and political association, Garcia has failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact that his protected activity was a causal reason for his termination. As to the claim regarding the grievance Garcia has failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact that he was speaking on a matter of public concern or that his grievance was a cause of his termination.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

Garcia was hired by SBCISD in 1999 as a “site coordinator” for Landrum Elementary. Dkt. No. 40-1, pp. 7-8. The site coordinator was responsible for providing before and after school activities at that site. Id. In 2003, Garcia was hired as the director of afterschool programming for SBCISD. Id., pp. 9-10.

Around this time, one of the site coordinators started teaching children chess as an after school activity. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 10. Other principals wanted the chess component added to their school's after-school activities. Id. Garcia informed the superintendent that the grant used to fund the after-school programming did not allow for the funds to be used for competition purposes, so if SBCISD wanted to create a competitive chess program, the competition funds would need to be provided by the district. Id.

The SBCISD board of trustees allocated roughly $90,000 each school year for the chess team. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 17. Garcia was instructed that the money could be used for travel expenses, instruction, or supplies. Id. Because the grant money could be used for instruction, Garcia prioritized using the money allocated by the school board for travel expenses for competitive chess tournaments. Id.

A. Travel Arrangements

At the beginning, Garcia used a travel agency for procuring the travel arrangements, but discontinued that on the advice of then-CFO Emma McCall, because the travel agency would get a portion of the funds spent. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 17. McCall advised Garcia to use Southwest Airlines group sales to save money. Id. Garcia testified that it was at his “discretion” to find the best method of travel - airplane versus charter bus - and the best companies to use. Id., pp. 17-18. Garcia would use a credit card supplied by the school district to pay for the travel. Id. He testified that he would “go pick up a [credit] card directly from the CFO, . . ., and they would give me a card to make bookings and all that, and I would let her know the cost of these trips. That's all I did.” Id., p. 18.

When asked about the use of purchase orders, Garcia explained that he would arrange the travel, then submit a purchase order to the SBCISD business office for the final cost of the trip. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 19. He stated that most of the airlines and charter bus companies would not accept a purchase order, but required payment via credit card. Id. Garcia testified that it was impractical to have the purchase order approved prior to the credit card payment because: (1) he was trying to lock in the price of travel; and (2) he wouldn't know exactly which students would be traveling until a week or so before the tournament, because students had to qualify to compete at certain tournaments. Id. Garcia testified that he understood the rationale for why it was a best practice to have the purchase order approved prior to money being expended, but also testified that in his 16 years, he never went over budget in his travel expenses. Id., pp. 19-20. Garcia testified that this process of paying for the travel expenses on the district credit card and then generating a purchase order was only used for travel expenses and that any supplies were purchased from approved vendors in a normal procurement process. Id., pp. 20-21.

On September 8, 2017, Vicki Perez, an accountant with SBCISD, sent Garcia an email about the use of the credit card. Dkt. No. 30-10, p. 49. Perez stated that, “I understand that your people are coming over to pick up your credit card and you signed an authorization form to pay for their hotel with the credit card. Please note that the credit card is only for directors when a PO is already in place. Their travel should be paid with a check. I know they just put the PO in right now but in the future, make sure you are allowing enough time to let the PO process accordingly and checks printed.” Id. The record does not contain any replies from Garcia or any indication that Garcia was given further instructions on credit card usage.

B. 2017 Election & New Superintendent

On May 6, 2017, SBCISD held an election for the Board of Trustees. ML Garcia^[1]- who is Garcia's aunt - was elected to the board, as was Orlando Lopez.^[2]Lopez and Garcia did not run directly against each other; Lopez was elected to the “Place 4” seat while Garcia was elected to the “Place 5” seat. ML Garcia is a retired teacher, who coached the chess team for “many years” at Miller Jordan Middle School in San Benito. Dkt. No. 3511, p. 2.

Garcia - in his affidavit - alleges that he engaged in open political advocacy on behalf of ML Garcia when she ran for school board in 2017. Dkt. No. 35-3, p. 2. He stated that he “attended many of her political functions” and “block-walked neighborhoods, knocking on doors and asking people to vote for her.” Id. There is no evidence in the record that any of the other candidates, including Lopez, ever witnessed Garcia campaigning on his aunt's behalf or were otherwise aware of his campaign activities.

ML Garcia, in her affidavit, testified that after the 2017 election, the Board consisted of two factions. Dkt. No. 35-11, p. 1. The majority faction consisted of Lopez, Michael Vargas, Janie Silva, Victor Rosas, and Sonia Weaver. Id. ML Garcia was part of the minority faction; she testified that she was “not aligned” with the majority. Id. Teresa Servellon, who at that time was the director of federal programs for SBCISD, testified that Lopez told her that “I have the majority, so I'm going to get, you know, what I need to get through.” Dkt. No. 35-22, p. 4.

In September 2017, the school board hired Nate Carman as the SBCISD superintendent. Dkt. No. 30-4, p. 2. In the three-and-a-half years preceding Carman's appointment, SBCISD had seven “actual, acting or interim” superintendents. Id., p. 3.

In “the fall of 2018,” Lopez told Servellon “to stay out of the way because Dr. Carman was going to go after Jack, and that I needed to stay out of the way.” Dkt. No. 3522, p. 5. Servellon testified that Lopez expressed his dislike of Garcia. Id., p. 6. When asked what Lopez stated that he disliked about Garcia, Servellon testified that Lopez “would reference [Garcia's] aunt at times, and then he would reference that some people just didn't like him,” apparently referring to members of the community. Id.

C. Super State Tournament

In January 2019, Garcia was preparing the traveling arrangements for the Super State tournament in Houston, Texas. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 22. The Super State tournament was considered highly prestigious; Garcia said that if a school wins the Super State “you're pretty much a top dog, as one would say, in the state of Texas in scholastic chess.” Id.

Garcia stated that he had “discretion” as to how the chess teams would travel to the Super State tournament in Houston. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 22. Garcia stated that he had several variables that he was considering, such as: (1) if he waited too long to purchase the travel arrangements, other school districts in Cameron and Hidalgo Counties would purchase their arrangements, driving up his costs as the number of available vendors decreased; (2) making sure his students were put in a position to succeed and would be well-rested before competing; and (3) the additional travel costs with some forms of travel, like needing an extra night in a hotel if the team traveled by charter bus. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 22.

Garcia stated that around 40 kids were going to the Super State tournament. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 23. He testified that the top 4 kids from each school qualified for the tournament and that any other students who competed were going on the recommendation of the campus principal. Id., p. 24. It appeared that the top 4 students were the ones whose scores would be used to determine team winners, but the other students were allowed to compete to gain exposure and experience. Id. Garcia testified that he chose to have the team fly to Houston to Super State because “we didn't fit in a bus.” Id., p. 23. The cost for the plane tickets, through Southwest Airlines, exceeded $17,000. Dkt. No. 40-1, p. 26.

Around that time, Garcia met with assistant superintendent ...