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Alisal Union Board President José Castañeda has come under heavy criticism from district employees and parents, accusing him of favoritism when running board meetings and of unfairly wanting to dismiss all the principals.

The fire was fueled by state Board of Education President Ted Mitchell, who said one of the reasons the state opted to place a trustee at the Alisal district was a "culture of intimidation" coming all the way from the board president and percolating down to all levels from the superintendent to the classrooms.

Castañeda, who became board president Dec. 9, vigorously defends his actions. In a phone interview this week, he said he is running board meetings in a legal manner (he checks with the district's attorney every step of the way), that Mitchell only received information from a select group of people, and, ultimately, he wants to make change that others want to thwart.

A few weeks ago, Castañeda changed the schedule of board meetings so that public comments on items not on the agenda would be heard after all other items were completed — effectively moving those comments from about 7 p.m. until about 10 p.m. Many parents say that effectively shut them out of meetings.

Critics say Castañeda is doing exactly what he accused the previous board of doing, keeping parents from speaking. Not true, Castañeda respond