STOCKTON, Calif. — There was an empty seat Tuesday night on the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees dias.
Trustee AngelAnn Flores was noticeably missing from the meeting — the first since she was arrested Friday on four felony charges.
The charges include insurance fraud related to a non-school-district crash and theft charges stemming from her alleged use of a school district-issued credit card for personal gain.
"I think my first reaction is I expected it," said Stockton organizer Alyssa Leiva. "I think the accountability and the shift of blame between power is a lot of what's gotten us here."
The arrest, which Flores's attorney calls politically motivated, was the first since the San Joaquin County's District Attorney announced his investigation into the district last April.
That investigation is ongoing, his office said.
"I think overall, the community is just frustrated with a lack of transparency," said Leiva who launched a petition to have the state's Attorney General take over the investigation. "We're really just frustrated with the breach of power within our local jurisdictions, but we're really hoping that Rob Bonta will take over and clear things up."
In a statement, Flores's attorney, Tori Verber-Salazar, said that part of her release from jail prohibits her from going within 100 yards of her place of work.
Verber-Salazar said Flores put in a written request Monday to attend the board meeting remotely due to a personal emergency but was denied.
"SUSD has constructed this situation purposefully to set the stage to remove Ms. Flores from the Board of Trustees. We anticipate that SUSD will use Ms. Flores’ being prevented from participating in the hearing as a contrived excuse to claim she is failing to do her duty and attempt to discipline or remove her from the Board," the statement said, in part. "This is a blatant attempt to chill Ms. Flores’ First Amendment rights and impede her ability to diligently serve the community who elected her. Despite these recent attacks, AngelAnn remains committed to fighting for Stockton Unified youth and families to hold their school district accountable for the documented millions of misused taxpayer dollars and corruption."
No removal motion was brought up at the meeting Tuesday night, and the district said in a statement that they can accommodate virtual attendance in the future if given 72 hours of notice. The district said Flores only gave them 19 hours.
Flores is expected to appear before a judge for arraignment on May 6 where she can request to remove the condition that prohibits her from entering the district's headquarters.
While the school board member tries to fight her charges, dozens of the district's teachers staged a protest outside the meeting fighting for a new contract.
"We are here showing support for our union because our contract has been expired since August and we are trying to make sure we get a fair contract," said elementary school teacher Jennifer Alvarez. "We are out here showing our support and letting the board members know that, we demand respect."
With distractions on seemingly every front, community members sent a clear message Tuesday.
"Let's improve our school district," said Stockton City Councilmember Kimberly Warmsley at the meeting. "We can do it if we begin to really focus on what we need to focus on which is our kids."
Watch more from ABC10: Stockton Unified trustee released from jail following Friday arrest
