BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Fairfax School District released a statement Wednesday in response to Tuesday's arrest of one of its board members. Palmer Moland was arrested and charged with six felony counts related to misuse of district funds.
Wednesday, District Superintendent Lora Brown released a statement:
The Fairfax School District is aware of the arrest of Board of Trustees member Palmer Moland on six felony counts by the Kern County District Attorney related to Trustee Moland’s alleged conduct in his public office. As a public institution, the District is concerned by the nature of the charges. The District has been cooperating with the District Attorney’s office and will continue to do so. The District is also evaluating what, if any, immediate actions by the District are necessitated by this development.
The District will monitor the matter as it moves through the legal due process system and continue to evaluate steps that may be necessary to address any impacts on the District’s operations. At the same time, the District will maintain its focus on fulfilling our central mission
– teaching and learning in the classroom. “Our commitment as a District is and must remain educating and supporting our students, and we are confident our leadership and staff will ensure this continues to be our top priority as we move forward together,” said District Superintendent Lora Brown.
The Kern County District Attorney's Office has filed six felony counts against Moland, including misappropriation of public funds, falsification of election documents, and voter fraud, among others. The former board president is alleged to have inappropriately used expenditure funds to pay for a lawyer to defend him against a motion to censure him last year.
He is also accused of not living within the Fairfax School District when he ran for office.
The Kern County District Attorney's office released a statement on Tuesday outlining the charges against Moland: "The charges allege that Palmer Moland, in his position as a member of the Fairfax School Board, ignored bylaws that restrict the expenditure of funds to hire a law firm at district expense to quash a motion to censure him as well as to limit his own exposure to public records requests related to the censure. Additionally, it is alleged that Mr. Moland’s vote to employ the additional law firm with district funds presented a financial conflict of interest that Moland was obligated to avoid by abstaining from the vote, which was ultimately decided by a one-vote margin."
"Additional charges allege that Mr. Moland did not reside within the Fairfax School District when he ran for office, as well as during the years in which he has been a member of the school board. Residency within the district is a core criterion to qualify for office the office that Mr. Moland holds. The charges allege that Moland reported living within the district when he submitted filings with the Kern County Elections Department to qualify to run for office, but that Moland actually resided in other locations outside the district boundaries. The charges allege that documents that Moland filed with the Elections Department in 2018 as well as in August of 2022 falsely indicated that he resided within the district, thus allowing him to run for an office that he was not qualified to hold. Charges relating to voter fraud also allege that Moland submitted voter registrations identifying his residence as an address that was not his actual residence and that he subsequently voted in elections in 2018 and 2020."
Last year a group calling themselves Fairfax Warriors attempted to recall Moland, along with two other school board members: Alma Rios, and Jose Tapia.
The recall effort followed a grand jury report that accused the Fairfax School Board of bullying, unprofessionalism, and money mismanagement. This report originated from allegations against Moland.
The district hired an independent attorney investigator to determine if there was truth to the allegations. According to the censure, the investigator found substantial evidence that Moland engaged in abusive, or bullying, conduct toward classified employees.
However, that recall effort failed.
“As an employee of the district, it’s a slap in the face that the board members don’t want to pass the censure on Moland," Pam Padilla, committee chairperson of the Fairfax recall effort said at the time. "It’s like a slap in the face because it’s like saying a bully is going to get away with whatever he wants to get away with, and not have any kind of punishment."
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