Five people connected to the Sweetwater Union High School District pleaded not guilty to bribery charges at their appearance in a San Diego courtroom on Friday afternoon.
The current and former board members, along with a contractor, are accused of setting up a pay-to-play scheme with construction companies bidding on major school upgrade projects.
Former Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara, who was fired last June amid accusations of misspending school funds, is among those to be arraigned Friday.
Others include former Sweetwater Board President Gregory Sandoval, current Board President Pearl Quinones and current Board Member Arlie Ricasa.
This case came about when a company not paying bribes says it was fired from a job on school grounds in order to hand over the contract to The Seville Group.
HAR Construction filed the suit asking for $15 million in damages.
"They were upset with the way the district managed the contract with the information that was provided to them, the information they relied on in bidding the project and they also talked about how the district and specific members of the district, specifically interfered with their ability to finish the project and to do their job,” said legal analyst and attorney Bryan Synder.
Henry Amigable, a Seville Group executive, is also scheduled to be arraigned in court Friday. He's accused of offering thousands of dollars on dinners, gifts and tickets to the school board members in exchange for their support.
Amigable's company also allegedly made campaign contributions to board members, to get the inside track on business, and spent more than $2,000 on theater tickets and dinner for South Bay board members and administrators, including Gandara.
Gilbane Construction also allegedly paid a $1,000 beauty pageant fee, for Gandara's daughter, and a $500 beauty pageant scholarship for Sandoval's daughter.
Sandoval said he has nothing to hide.
All defendants -- whose homes were raided as part of the investigation --- face charges of accepting bribes and lying about it on legal documentation.
This case puts school projects on hold, now and could expose the district to a $15 million dollar lawsuit.
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Another investigation has been launched involving several other Sweetwater Union High School District employees.
Several employees within the district food services department have been accused of theft.
Current superintendent Ed Brand has asked a third party to look into allegations.
Brand declined to give specifics about the thefts and who is being accused.
Parents who spoke with NBC San Diego say they found out about the misspending of money by matching campaign dollars, with contracts awarded.
One parent told us it's not enough that the superintendent is gone and that the manager of the bond money has been fired.
"The elected officials took the money, failed to disclose the money," said the parent. "[They] then breached the public's trust by then taking the contributions, putting it in their pockets and then giving the contracts and awards to the people who gave them money, so, no, I'm not satisfied until they're all fired."
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