Grand Prairie ISD superintendent's job in limbo after order blocking his firing expires

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Grand Prairie ISD's superintendent remains in legal limbo after Friday's injunction hearing was canceled. 

The cancelation is the result of GPISD filing a motion that moves the case to federal court.

It will now be up to a federal judge to decide whether a federal court or state court has proper jurisdiction. 

This is all while GPISD Superintendent Jorge Arredondo says he still hasn't been told what the allegation is against him or who is making it. 

"We don't see there being any basis for there being federal jurisdiction over these state claims," said Mary Nix, Arredondo’s attorney.

The superintendent was hired by Grand Prairie ISD on June 24 and then placed on administrative leave just over two months later on September 4. 

In October, the board was set to vote on whether or not to terminate his employment. However, a judge intervened when Arredondo sued for breach of contract for violation of due process and defamation. 

"If they're claiming that there is a basis for terminating him for cause, they have to under the law, due process, right under the constitution and under his contract, provide him with notice of what those allegations are and give him an opportunity to respond and defend himself," Nix said.

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In October, the board publicly alleged Arredondo violated a policy against discrimination, harassment and retaliation, also known as DIA.

While Nix says Arredondo does not know who is making the allegation or what the allegation is, Arredondo's lawsuit says school board trustees Amber Moffitt and Emily Liles questioned his "justifiable decisions."

The filing says, "For example, they were unhappy that Arredondo reassigned a white female executive who had missed more than 20 school days the prior year to the position where her absences would not interfere with school performance; and with Arredondo’s decision to hire a new principal for a campus which had an F rating for two years in a row."

"Instead of supporting Arredondo in his work to improve the district, which is what he was hired to do, Liles and Moffitt began denigrating Arredondo and both made disparaging and discriminatory remarks about plaintiff's race, national origin, and language... They made it clear that they were not in support of plaintiff's decision to hire two Hispanic executives... and even asked if one was hired to be ‘a chauffeur.’"

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Moffit and Liles have not responded publicly to those allegations.

The lawsuit also claims that school board members committed defamation by stating Arredondo violated policy without giving him the opportunity to respond. 

"Our position is that's defamation because he has not violated the DIA policy," Nix said. "And to say that he has is not truthful."

Grand Prairie ISD has argued in a court filing that the district has sovereign immunity and therefore the Texas district court lacks jurisdiction.

Nix believes the district's effort to move the case to federal court leaves her client vulnerable once again to being terminated. 

For now, Arredondo remains on paid administrative leave.

"I think most importantly, Dr. Arredondo wants a resolution," Nix said. "He wants to get back to work and do what he was hired to do."

The temporary restraining order preventing the district from terminating Arredondo's contract is no longer in effect after the district's motion to move the case to federal court. 

Nix says she will file a motion with the federal court early next week in hopes of moving the case back to state court.