Randy Villegas Approved $14.4 Million in Secret Sex-Abuse Settlements, Undercutting Transparency Pitch
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 12
Randy Villegas Approved $14.4 Million in Secret Sex-Abuse Settlements, Undercutting Transparency Pitch
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 12
$14.4 million in confidential settlements tied to five sex-abuse cases was approved during Randy Villegas’s tenure on the Visalia Unified school board, according to documents and reporting cited by Fox News Digital.
March 2025 board minutes show Villegas was present for a unanimous vote on a $3 million settlement involving six former students who accused a former kindergarten teacher of assaults dating to 1969-1971.
That agreement said parties would state only that the matter was resolved and barred the former students from encouraging or filing public-records requests; at least three other settlements reportedly used similar secrecy clauses.
The disclosures cut against Villegas’s campaign message of transparency and accountable leadership as he runs in California’s newly redrawn 22nd District ahead of the June 2 top-two primary.
Why did a transparency advocate approve secret settlements that barred public records requests?
As new laws enable more abuse lawsuits, are California schools financially prepared for justice?