Coquitlam superintendent steps down after school district clears him of ‘historical allegation’

Three months after getting the job, School District #43 superintendent Robert Zambrano has resigned.

Zambrano’s decision followed what the district called a: “historical allegation.”

While the charges were dropped, Zambrano was one of three young men charged with kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1986, according to reporting from Global News.

Zambrano was 19 at the time.

A recent external investigation cleared Zambrano of wrongdoing, according to the school district’s executive director of human resources Michelle Daycock.

“The investigator found that Mr. Zambrano did not engage in the conduct alleged and that his record of arrest and charges had been expunged by a court in 1989, prior to his employment in the district,” Daycock stated in an email to the Dispatch.

On Oct. 7, the district announced Zambrano would succeed retiring superintendent Patricia Gartland. Zambrano took office Dec. 1.

The district would not answer questions regarding the accuracy of the Global News story, the timing of the investigation and why the matter wasn’t investigated before Zambrano was first employed by the school district in the early 1990s.

Retiring was a difficult decision, according to a statement from Zambrano supplied by the district.

“Given the unfortunate attention this matter has brought to our school district, I believe this decision is in the best interests of the organization, my colleagues, and the communities that I have had the pleasure of serving for the past 34 years, and my family,” he stated.

Over a 34-year career with the district, Zambrano taught science, math and French as well as serving as principal and vice principal. He was the district’s assistant superintendent for nine years.