The Syracuse City School District moved to fire a vice principal allegedly caught drinking alcohol with a student in the Corcoran High School parking lot.
On Oct. 10, police found Jaime Perez-Garcia, the vice principal at H.W. Smith Elementary School, in a pickup truck with a 15-year-old girl, a bottle of alcohol and two shot glasses. He was charged with child endangerment.
The district has asked the Board of Education to approve Perez-Garcia’s termination. The board will vote on his removal at the Dec. 10 meeting.
If approved, Perez-Garcia’s final day will be Jan. 10, according to an SCSD document. He has been on paid leave since October while the district conducts an internal review.
Perez-Garcia was the principal at Fowler High School before transferring to H.W. Smith Elementary School.
A police investigation revealed Perez-Garcia had “inappropriate conversations” with the teenager via texts, according to a criminal court complaint. The pair had planned to meet in his truck outside of a Corcoran High School football game. In the car, Perez-Garcia gave the minor alcohol, the complaint said.
Perez-Garcia was arraigned and released from jail without bail last month.
Perez-Garcia’s salary was $116,195 in 2024, according to online payroll records.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated the SCSD Board of Education would vote on Perez-Garcia’s employment on Nov. 12. That vote was moved to December after publication of this story.
