Grand Prairie Superintendent Jorge Arredondo suspended after two months on job

GRAND PRAIRIE — The newly hired superintendent of the Grand Prairie school system was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday three months after being chosen to lead the district.

The 5-2 vote came during a special school board meeting called Tuesday evening.

Dr. Jorge Arredondo was named the lone finalist for the district on May 28. His first official day was Monday, July 8.

The board voted in favor of the suspension to "protect the district and Dr. Arredondo," according to a news release. No specific reasons were given for the suspension.

"Because this is an ongoing investigation, there will be no additional comment from this board," Board President Amber Moffitt said in the release. "We believe all parties will be treated fairly with a high level of professionalism by the outside third-party law firm that is conducting the investigation."

Deputy Superintendent Tracy Ray was named acting superintendent.

The board meeting began at 5:30 p.m. Just 90 minutes earlier Arredondo participated in a news conference with Grand Prairie city officials over the water contamination issues that closed schools for two days.

This is a developing story.