Randy Villegas is running for Congress in California’s newly redrawn 22nd Congressional District. On the campaign trail, he has tried to sell himself as a transparency-minded candidate. His website says he wants to “bring accountable, people-first leadership to Washington.”
The issue is what happened while he served on the Visalia Unified School District board. According to data and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the district settled five confidential sex-abuse cases totaling nearly $14.4 million. The agreements reportedly included language designed to keep the public from learning the details.
Fox News Digital confirmed that Villegas was present for at least one of those votes. In March 2025, board minutes show trustees unanimously approved a settlement tied to “existing litigation” and identified only as “Tulare County Superior Court, Case No. VCU 294247.” That case number matched six defendants in settlement documents cited by the LA Times.
The case involved allegations from six former students against an adult male kindergarten teacher. The complaint described incidents stretching back decades, saying the teacher “used his kindergarten classroom and position of trust and authority to egregiously assault the youngest and most tender of students,” and that he “upended the kindergarten classroom into his personal playing field where (the teacher) preyed on and repeatedly assaulted multiple female students.”
The March 2025 agreement said the matter had been resolved and barred “further elaboration, discussion, or disclosure” to third parties. It also noted the district may have to release some settlement terms under California public records law. The settlements did not include an admission of wrongdoing. Even so, the situation raises a basic question for voters: how does a candidate campaign on openness while serving on a board that keeps major abuse payouts quiet?