Gregory Salcido, an El Rancho High School teacher and Pico Rivera city councilmember, has been criticized nationally for telling a class, in remarks recorded on video, that military members are “dumbs—s” and “the frickin’ lowest of the low.”
Salcido will continue to face criticism for those statements. And he probably will be recalled from, or forced to resign, his position as a city councilman.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for him to be fired from the high school.
Once the political process plays out in Pico Rivera, look for this white-hot story to become a tale of how difficult it is to fire a tenured teacher with experience in California.
Salcido has been a teacher for more than a decade. He has supporters among students and colleagues. But, according to the Southern California News Group, he’s also gotten into previous trouble in the classroom.
That has included being placed on leave and suspended “after a parent complained that the teacher threatened his daughter, made inappropriate comments about race and insulted other students and parents,” the newspaper said. Salcido denied the accusations. He was placed on leave a second time, in 2012, after being accused of “hitting a 15-year-old El Rancho student who put his head down in class.” Salcido said he smacked the student but not harmfully, and only to wake him up.
Will this be a third strike? Don’t count on it. There is a process for firing teachers, but it is so expensive and time-consuming that few districts bother using it. The process typically leads to the firing of fewer than 10 teachers a year – statewide.
The Pico Rivera politics of what Salcido said are relatively unimportant. The fact that such a teacher can keep his job is a much bigger issue for the state.