A Fontana businessman is suing the Rialto Unified School District, alleging a culture of corruption perpetuated by a laissez-faire school board allowed one of its members to publicly defame him and prevent his company from getting work at the district.
Frank Montes, who owns an auto body center in Fontana, alleges in his lawsuit filed June 2 in San Bernardino Superior Court that his company was a regular vendor of the district for school bus repair work until he clashed with Edgar Montes, a school board member of 15 years who attacked his reputation during two live-streamed board meetings in August 2024 and in February.
Frank Montes, who is no relation to Edgar Montes, called the school board member’s comments “irresponsible,” “patently false” and “defamatory.”
“These statements were made without any evidentiary basis and were intended to damage plaintiff’s personal and professional reputation,” according to the lawsuit, which claims the board member’s conduct was part of a “targeted campaign of public retaliation.”
During the Aug. 14, 2024 meeting, Edgar Montes, according to the lawsuit, falsely claimed Frank Montes was involved in questionable practices and had lost several contracts with other public entities. He subsequently apologized at the following meeting.
During the Feb. 5 meeting, Edgar Montes made a second series of defamatory comments against Frank Montes and then Superintendent Cuauhtemoc Avila, alleging the two were involved in a corrupt “buddy-buddy” scheme to cover up sexual misconduct within the district in exchange for preferential school bus repair contracts, the suit claims. The board member did not apologize following that meeting.
At the time of the Feb. 5 meeting, Avila had been on leave for 10 months amid sexual harassment allegations by a subordinate — allegations he said were trumped up and unfounded. Still, the board unanimously voted to fire him, without cause, in February.
Avila has filed separate claims against the district — one in November 2024 alleging he was set up by Edgar Montes and his accuser, lead innovation agent Patricia Chavez, and another in March, alleging Edgar Montes defamed him in his public comments at the Feb. 5 meeting, and that the district intentionally delayed its internal investigation to damage his reputation and career. He said he likely will file a lawsuit by the end of the month.
Frank Montes’ lawsuit names as defendants Edgar Montes and the other board members: Evelyn Dominguez, Stephanie Lewis, Joseph Martinez, and Dakira Williams. It also names as defendants former acting Superintendent Ed D’Souza and Derek Harris, the district’s lead risk management and transportation agent.
The filing of the lawsuit comes amid a five-month investigation by the Southern California News Group into allegations of corruption by school board members and top-level managers and administrators in the district. The allegations include inflation of student meal count numbers by top managers in the Nutrition Services department, allegedly to receive more reimbursement from state and federal programs.
Frank Montes claims he and Edgar Montes became divided over a controversial warehouse project in the city in 2022 that was unrelated to district business. As a result of that split, the plaintiff alleges, Edgar Montes allegedly blocked his business from landing work with the district.
Prior to the fallout over the warehouse project, Frank Montes’ company landed 12 jobs with the district in 2022 totaling about $41,000 in revenue. His company received no work from the district in 2023.
Edgar Montes, according to the lawsuit, has “operated with undue influence, effectively commandeering and centralizing the district’s decision-making authority in himself and disregarding established legal, policy, and ethical norms.”
“Plaintiff believes the RUSD has become a citadel of scandal, and that defendant Edgar Montes has used his position not for public service, but as a means to further personal, political, and business interest,” according to the lawsuit.
None of the board members, nor district spokesperson Syeda Jafri, responded to requests for comment.