An advertisement targeting Randy Villegas makes erroneous assertions about his alleged role in employing a sexual predator at a school in Visalia, California.
In reality, Villegas and other members of the Visalia school board were unaware of the individual’s criminal background, as this information was not publicly disclosed at the time of the vote.
The advertisement, funded by the GOP-associated Congressional Leadership Fund PAC, targets Villegas as he contends against Republican Rep. David Valadao in a highly contested U.S. House race for 2026.
The ad highlights an October 2022 school board vote where Villegas and others approved the hiring of Dejuan Jones as a campus supervisor at Mt. Whitney High School. Jones was arrested six months later for engaging in unlawful conduct with a student.
Subsequent investigations brought to light that Jones had previously been terminated from the same school in 2013 for inappropriate communication with a student. He later worked at Monache High School, where similar allegations were reportedly made against him.
The Visalia school board was not informed of Jones’ past conduct during the hiring process. Board members did not specifically vote on Jones’ hiring alone; instead, they approved the employment of 10 individuals, including Jones, along with 15 additional agenda items in one collective vote. The recommendation to approve came from the Visalia Unified School District Office.
At the time, Jones did not possess a criminal record, allowing him to bypass the district’s pre-employment screening. These procedures have since been enhanced for greater thoroughness.
The advertisement’s claims that “Randy Villegas hired a predator” and that it was “Randy’s decision” are exaggerated and misleading.
Juan Guerrero, the former president of the Visalia school board, stated that the re-hiring of Jones was a “human resources failure” and that “the board was not briefed on Jones’ background before he was added alongside nine other personnel to a routine consent agenda.”
“Any political ads saying this was Randy’s decision are untrue, misleading, and profoundly disrespectful to those impacted,” Guerrero added. “Most importantly, they don’t get us any closer to accountability and justice for victims.”
Villegas also addressed the issue during a debate on September 10 hosted by KGET.
“I stand with survivors of abuse of any kind,” Villegas stated. “And with respect to Mr. Jones, the charges against him are despicable, and he is in prison where he belongs, nowhere near our schools.”
The post School board attacks on Villegas proven to be misleading appeared first on American Journal News.
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