Donna mayor sues school district over demotion

Donna Mayor David Moreno sued the city’s school district in late June, claiming Donna ISD demoted him unfairly while he worked there after he allegedly failed to report some teachers causing a drunken disturbance on a school trip in 2023 quickly enough.

Moreno was the district’s CTE director in 2023.

According to his suit, around Saturday, April 1 of that year, Moreno received a call from a Donna North CTE instructor “about several teachers who were drinking excessively and causing a disturbance, some of which was witnessed by students.”

Donna ISD declined to comment on allegations related to that incident Tuesday.

The teachers who allegedly caused a drunken disturbance were at a UIL state competition in Corpus Christi that Moreno didn’t attend, the suit says.

Moreno claims that he informed his supervisor, then-Assistant Superintendent Rashad Rana, about the incident on Monday, April 3.

“Thereafter, Mr. Moreno received a written reprimand for not reporting within 48 hours and allegedly violated Donna ISD Policy,” the suit says.

According to the suit, Moreno was the only one reprimanded over the incident.

Moreno complained that none of the actual individuals involved were reprimanded but received no response from the district, the suit says.

The reprimand, court documents say, led to Moreno being demoted from CTE director to warehouse supervisor that July.

Moreno, 55, notes in his suit that all of the teachers who allegedly caused the disturbance on the trip were women and that his replacement as CTE director, Juan Leal, is a much younger employee.

The suit claims the district discriminated against Moreno based on his age, race and gender, and that he was retaliated against despite being a longtime employee in good standing.

“Through hard work and dedication, Mr. Moreno worked his way from various administration positions in Donna ISD to eventually being promoted to CTE Director,” it says. “At all times, he was a dedicated, hard-working, highly regarded, and loyal employee with excellent employee evaluations, and loved his job. Mr. Moreno never received a reprimand or any disciplinary action until the recent reprimand in connection with the basis of this lawsuit.”

Moreno is seeking court costs and damages under the Texas Labor Code, along with potential relief exceeding $100,000.

An attorney representing Moreno said he couldn’t comment this week and It’s not clear whether Moreno is still employed by the district, though he no longer appears in its staff online directory.

In a statement, Donna ISD noted that it hadn’t yet been served with Moreno’s lawsuit.

“However, upon receipt of service, the District will vigorously defend the allegations made therein. No further comment will be made on pending litigation,” the statement said. “The Donna Independent School District remains committed to serving our students, staff, and community.”