The Socorro Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Nate Carman addressed the contract termination of the chief of police Jose Castorena.
"The process now is that he can either accept or he can choose within 15 days to appeal and ask for a hearing in front of this board," Carman said.
The Socorro ISD Board of Trustees voted four to two to terminate the contract Tuesday night.
Carman said the board terminated the chief's contract for “good cause" but before making the decision they sought legal counsel.
"The employee is on a term contract and that is the legal threshold we must meet, and based on our legal advice, we believe we have met that threshold," said Carman.
When asked about the circumstances that led to the decision of "good cause", Carman said, "I can’t speak to anything specific on an ongoing personnel matter."
Earlier this year Castorena was placed on administrative leave, and the second in command of the department, Lieutenant George Johnson, led the police officers in the meantime, according to SISD.
"I believe he has been doing such a solid job at ensuring that our campuses are covered with an officer at every campus," said Carman.
Carman said if Castorena agrees with the termination of his contract, his position will open for new applications.
"We will post it and hire the best candidate available. That has not happened yet, so we have not opened that position," said Carman.
KFOX14 reached out to every single SISD Board of Trustee member to try to learn more about the cause behind Castorena's contract ending.
Only David Morales responded.
Just like SISD's superintendent, he said he couldn't comment on the matter but said the board is going to be as fair as possible with the case and hopes that in the end there's a resolution.
KFOX14 also submitted an open records request to ask for Castorena's evaluations and the letter he received indicating he was placed on a leave of absence.
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