The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has concluded its investigation into an “employee’s misuse of (Coachella Valley Unified School District) funds” and determined that the claims were unfounded, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department confirmed.
Yet Carissa Carrera, the teachers’ union president and a CVUSD teacher since 2004, has remained on administrative leave since Oct. 25, according to a press release that the Coachella Valley Teachers Association emailed Tuesday evening.
“For unknown reasons, CVUSD has not restored Ms. Carrera to her position nor taken steps to remedy this error,” the statement said. “Knowing it to be false, CVTA believes the allegation, administrative leave and public shaming — all times within days of the November 2024 election — is retaliation against Ms. Carrera and CVTA for our collective opposition to unlawful and unethical conduct by CVUSD employees and/or board members as well as retaliation against Ms. Carrera’s participation in political activities and protected activities.”
The press release included the incident report prepared by the Riverside Sheriff’s Department, with some information redacted to protect the privacy of a juvenile. Although The Desert Sun filed a public records request, the Sheriff’s Department denied disclosure, citing reasons consistent with those outlined in the incident report.
On Tuesday night, a public information officer with the sheriff’s department reiterated that the allegations were determined to be unfounded. “A debrief will be held with all parties, at which time the case findings will be presented,” Lt. Deirdre Vickers, a public information officer with the sheriff’s department, said in an email. “If additional evidence is provided to further the investigation, it may be continued.”
The incident report, provided by CVTA, detailed a deputy’s investigation into Carrera. The investigation began in October after the sheriff’s department was contacted by a private investigator hired by the school district to look into a “possible fraudulent incident” involving Carrera obtaining services at the Riverside County Latino Commission for a Desert Sands Unified School District student who was potentially ineligible for medical services.
CVUSD has maintained a long-standing partnership with the Riverside County Latino Commission, which, following the pandemic, now provides one licensed therapist at every school site.
The private investigator reportedly told the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigator that the Riverside County Latino Commission was “requesting prosecution” if a crime had occurred.
Buses at the Coachella Valley Unified School District bus yard are photographed on Sept. 16, 2014.
In a conversation with Superintendent Frances Esparza, the sheriff’s department investigator was briefed on the resources and eligibility practices outlined in the contract between CVUSD and the commission. The superintendent directed the deputy to Leonel Contreras, the executive director of the commission.
The sheriff’s department investigator found that the commission provides counseling services both through a CVUSD on-campus social worker and by walk-in, and concluded that the DSUSD student accessed services via the walk-in method because they were not enrolled at CVUSD.
The investigator from the sheriff’s department had initially been informed of documentation suggesting Carrera had provided false information on the intake form, misrepresenting a DSUSD student as a CVUSD student. However, after reviewing the intake paperwork Carrera had filled out, the investigator determined that Carrera “did not falsely represent” the DSUSD student as a CVUSD student. Instead, the sheriff’s department investigator found that Carrera listed the DSUSD school where the student was enrolled.
“Based on the information obtained, there is no evidence of fraud or theft under false pretenses to gain goods or services,” the incident report stated.
Coachella Valley Unified School District is a school district in the eastern Coachella Valley.
The sheriff’s department investigator followed up with the private investigator hired by CVUSD, who pointed out discrepancies in Contreras’ statements to both entities, contradicting the sheriff’s department’s findings.
The sheriff’s department investigator then conducted a follow-up interview with Contreras on Nov. 18 to clarify the discrepancies, who then shared he had received a call from a CVUSD counselor around January 2023 requesting his verbal authorization to provide services. Because the call came from a CVUSD counselor, Contreras assumed the counseling services were for a CVUSD student.
The incident report said Contreras admitted he did not personally check the intake paperwork. After reviewing the paperwork provided by the sheriff’s department, he acknowledged it was an oversight and clarified that he did not have any paperwork that Carrera “fraudulently signed or provided false information.”
After the interview with Contreras, the sheriff’s department investigator spoke with the CVUSD counselor who initiated the counseling services. She clarified that the commission’s services are not exclusive to the district and told the investigator that she may have made a mistake by telling Contreras that the student was enrolled at CVUSD. In any case, she noted that it doesn’t matter whether a person in need of services is a student at CVUSD.
As such, the sheriff’s department investigator determined that the evidence does not substantiate criminal activity and that the CVUSD counselor provided services within her duties to her co-worker.
The incident report ultimately confirmed that “the allegation of fraud is unfounded.”
Board President Joey Acuña declined to comment and referred inquiries to Esparza, as well as the sheriff’s department for details on how they have shared information about the case with the district and the media.
Esparza had not responded to requests for comment as of Wednesday morning.Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: ‘Unfounded’: Sheriff finds no misuse of funds by CVUSD employee