Upland Board Trustee’s Son Sues District Amid Ongoing State Ethics Probe of Father

Upland Unified School District is facing an unprecedented convergence of scandals, legal disputes, and internal investigations — all centered on one of its own board members, Trustee Sherman Garnett Sr., and a lawsuit filed by his son, Sherman Garnett Jr.

And while the son is now suing the district, the father has been under a year-and-a-half-long investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), California’s state ethics watchdog.

What began as a questionable $900-per-hour consulting arrangement with a trustee's adult son has spiraled into a governance crisis that now threatens the district’s credibility.

A Father on the Board, a Son With a $900-Per-Hour Contract

In October of 2023, the Upland Unified Board approved a $900-per-hour consulting contract for Garnett Jr., which was hidden within a “Certificated Personnel Report.” The approval occurred while his father, Garnett Sr., served as board president. Public records show conflicting accounts as to whether Garnett Sr. abided by FPPC regulations. Garnett Sr. has stated in correspondence to the FPPC that he recused himself from the vote, but the meeting minutes show only that he abstained - a large legal distinction.  Recusal requires that the official publicly state the nature of the conflict of interest at the open board meeting, and that they leave the room while the vote is taken. The meeting minutes only show that Garnett Sr. abstained from voting on his son’s contract, while he stayed in the room and did not make any announcement as to the potential conflict of interest.

Public records later showed that the son had written that he had worked with his father for many years, suggesting overlapping business interests. After the FPPC opened an investigation in May 2024, however, Garnett Sr. distanced himself, telling the FPPC that they had only worked together occasionally.

Such contradictions often draw even closer scrutiny from state ethics regulators.

FPPC: California’s Ethics Watchdog Now Circling Upland Unified

The FPPC enforces California’s conflict-of-interest, ethics, and transparency laws. Among its duties:

• ensuring public officials do not use their positions for personal financial gain,

• enforcing recusal requirements, and

• investigating undisclosed conflicts and misleading filings.

Garnett Sr. has now been under FPPC investigation since May 2024, with no resolution yet announced.

That investigation has since triggered secondary inquiries inside the district and ignited broader concerns about governance and transparency. Upland Unified is also under FPPC review for failure to review its Conflict of Interest policy every 2 years as required, and for delaying release of Statements of Economic Interest 700 forms while imposing unlawful conditions. This points to potential systemic ethical violations.

Lawsuit Filed by Trustee’s Son Against District Leadership

In late 2024, Sherman Garnett Jr. filed suit against Upland Unified School District, also naming Superintendent Lynn Carmen Day and Assistant Superintendent Jennifer DeAnda. The board has never publicly discussed the lawsuit; all deliberations have occurred in closed session, outside public view.

Despite the glaring conflict — the plaintiff being the son of a sitting trustee — Garnett Sr. did not recuse himself for more than a year during litigation discussions.

Only on November 5, 2025, did he finally step out of the room. Meeting minutes note only that he “recused himself,” but do not specify when he left, why, or whether any portion of the discussion occurred before he exited. That omission is significant because California’s ethics laws require that an official:

• publicly identify the financial interest,

• state the nature of the conflict, and

• announce precisely when they are leaving and when they return.

None of those steps were documented. This was the first and only known recusal by Garnett Sr. despite numerous prior meetings where his son’s lawsuit was discussed.

Internal Investigation Adds to the Turmoil

During the ongoing FPPC probe, the district also launched an internal investigation into whether Chief Academic Officer Shinay Bowman was authorized to write a 2024 letter to the FPPC defending Trustee Garnett Sr. Bowman reported to the FPPC that she was acting “on behalf of the district.” That claim was contradicted by Superintendent Lynn Carmen Day, who later wrote that Bowman was NOT authorized to write the letter.

The district hired an outside law firm to sort out the contradictions — but the investigation itself fueled further controversy, revealing inconsistent accounts from administrative leadership about whether any district official ever approved the FPPC letter. The investigation findings contradict Superintendent Day’s account, stating that Jack Young, then Upland Unified President of the Board gave Bowman authorization after seeking legal counsel. 

If so, that is problematic because board members can only act as a body, and making unilateral decisions on behalf of the district is against the education code. Further, the use of publicly-paid legal counsel for an FPPC defense could be considered a misuse of public funds.

Notably, the timing of this internal investigation overlapped with the period in which Garnett Sr. finally began recusing himself, raising questions about whether findings in that investigative process triggered his sudden change of behavior.

A Parallel Scandal: Garnett Sr.’s $3,000-Per-Hour County Consulting Gig

Separate from the Upland contract to his son, Garnett Sr. has drawn media scrutiny for his consulting work for San Bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre, with rates reportedly exceeding $3,000 per hour.

The arrangement raises conflict-of-interest concerns because:

• The County Superintendent oversees and audits local school district budgets,

• Garnett Sr. is a former SBCSS employee and former County Board of Education trustee, and

• His longstanding connections create overlapping spheres of influence between county and district-level governance.

Observers have noted the uncomfortable optics and the potential of the misuse of public funds of a current trustee obtaining a $3,000 per hour public contract while his son received a $900 per hour contract in the district he helps govern.

Upland Holds 10 "Special Meetings" — Without Recordings

Upland Unified has held 10 special meetings since the lawsuit was filed. Under the Brown Act, special meetings require only 24 hours’ public notice, and do not allow general public comment. The Brown Act does not define “special circumstances,” but repeated or serial use of special meetings instead of regular meetings can be challenged as an attempt to limit public participation.

Compounding the issue, Upland Unified does not audio-record or video-record any board meetings, meaning the only public record of what occurred — including the manner and timing of Garnett’s recusal — comes from brief, summary-style meeting minutes. This has only added to the controversy and disputes over the conflicting accounts.

The combination of frequent special meetings and the absence of recordings severely limits the public’s ability to monitor governmental activity or evaluate whether discussions and recusals occurred lawfully.

A School District in Chaos

Between the year-and-a-half-long on-going state ethics investigation of Sherman Garnett Sr., conflicting administrative accounts of recusals and district authorizations, the lawsuit by the son of Trustee Garnett against the District as a whole and two top administrators, and questionable high-dollar consulting contracts for the father and son duo, Upland Unified School District has found itself in the middle of a spiraling governance crisis.

Unresolved questions now loom:

• Why did Trustee Garnett Sr. ignore recusal requirements until November 2025?

• Why were FPPC communications handled with unclear and/or contradictory authorization?

• Why was a trustee’s son awarded such a high consulting rate?

• What did senior administrators know — and when?

• Does Garnett Sr.'s consulting gig with the Cunty Superintendent constitute a misuse of public funds and/or a conflict of interest due to the multiple relationships and entanglements - and how does this affect Upland Unified?

For now, the only certainty is that the controversies are no longer containable inside the boardroom while the FPPC investigation continues against a Board member, and the lawsuit from that same trustee’s son looms against the district and top administration.

Upland Unified faces a reckoning over transparency, conflicts of interest, and public trust — with no resolution in sight.