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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 meets Wednesday and will vote on his removal. 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 conducted 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.
