Former student urges district action after arrest of teacher Paul Spinetti

A former student told the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) Board of Trustees at a public meeting that the arrest that morning of teacher Paul Spinetti for alleged battery of a student had reverberated through current and former students.

Eleanor Jonas, who identified herself as a 2022 graduate, told trustees that social media showed current and former Terra Nova students calling the arrest “finally,” and said the teacher’s presence had kept some students from taking shop classes. “I had friends who were scared to be in his classroom, were uncomfortable, felt unsafe,” Jonas said.

Jonas said some students had reported concerns to administrators in the past but believed “nothing happened,” and that many students were reluctant to speak up because they doubted they would be heard. “I love [the school]. I love this district. But I do think it is a failure on behalf of the school and the administration that he was allowed to teach for 10 years,” she said.

Board members did not comment on the matter during the meeting, consistent with the board’s published rules for non-agendized public comment. Sergeant Duane Wachelborn of the police department was named by a district speaker as the lead investigator; meeting staff urged anyone with additional information to contact him.

The district provided no details at the meeting about the charges, any internal personnel actions, or the exact date of the alleged incident beyond Jonas’s statement that the arrest occurred that morning. The board did not take any formal action during the meeting related to the arrest.

The public comment occurred during the meeting’s public-comment period, and board members reminded speakers that they could not respond to non-agendized items. Jonas’s remarks and the police contact information were the extent of official public-facing information provided to the board at that time.