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Cobre Superintendent Spaletta resigns

The Cobre Consolidated School District Board of Education voted Monday to sever ties with its superintendent, Jeff Spaletta. The board voted 4-0 to accept Spaletta’s resignation, effective Oct. 23, and approved a negotiated severance agreement by the same vote. Board President Serena Murillo was absent from the meeting. The votes came after an executive session that lasted a little more than an hour during Monday night’s regular meeting. Michael Koury will continue as acting superintendent, Vice President Gabrielle Begay said in a statement after the votes. “We wish Dr. Spaletta well as he takes on his next professional endeavors,” she said. “Until a permanent superintendent is selected by the board, Mr. Koury will remain in the position of acting superintendent. As always, we appreciate the support of the community.” After the meeting, Begay said there had been no discussion yet about a search for a permanent superintendent, and that Spaletta will remain on administrative leave until Oct. 23. In making the motion to accept the severance agreement, board member Gilbert Guadiana included giving authority to the board’s counsel to finalize changes to the agreement discussed in the executive session. Board members said after the meeting that the changes are minor, and that both parties had now given approval to the agreement. Board members also said the deal, once finalized, should be a matter of open record. Spaletta, who was hired in June 2022, was placed on administrative leave in July for a second time following a complaint filed by an employee. That investigation is ongoing. Spaletta was first placed on leave in December, following complaints from staff that he created a hostile working environment and several other internal complaints filed against him. He was allowed back to work the following month as the investigation continued. In March, the board announced the investigation had not substantiated any of those claims made against Spaletta. The board and district are also facing a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee, Teresa Holguin, that additionally names Spaletta and Guadiana as defendants. The lawsuit claims her August 2022 termination from her position as the district’s chief financial officer was retaliatory, and that Spaletta and Guadiana conspired to both fire her and to take control of the board. According to the lawsuit, Holguin filed a complaint in 2021 against Guadiana alleging that he had humiliated her at meetings, questioned the justification for her salary and made accusations of misappropriation of funds, among other issues. Since her lawsuit was filed in August, there has not been any response filed in court from the district, Board of Education, Spaletta or Guadiana. No hearings have been scheduled.

EDITOR’S NOTE: At the request of Jeff Spaletta, this online version was updated on Dec. 4, 2023, to clarify that Spaletta was placed on administrative leave.

[skylightnews]

Beauty doctor dubbed 'the Queen of Botox' who faced watchdog probe cleared to work without restrictions

A beauty doctor dubbed the 'Queen of Botox' who was investigated by a medical watchdog has been cleared to work without strict conditions on her practice.

Dr Nyla Raja, who has a string of celebrity clients, has built a multi-million pound empire thanks to the success of her 'Medispas' in Wilmslow and Alderley Edge, opening branches in Liverpool, Birmingham and on Harley Street in London.Last year the M.E.N. revealed the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service had imposed 'interim conditions' on the former GP following the launch of an investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC).

More than 2,000 people waited over 12 hours in Greater Manchester A&Es last month - the situation is only getting worse

Those conditions have now been lifted, the GMC has confirmed, which means she is free to practice without the conditions which had previously been in place.

The watchdog would not comment when asked if the investigation had concluded.

Dr Raja, 45, had previously been required to abide by strict conditions published on the GMC website. They required the mother-of-three from Prestbury, Cheshire, to inform the GMC of any new medical role she took up, although she was allowed to continue to practice medicine in the meanwhile.

Registered under the name Naila Raja-Jaweed, the GMC imposed 'interim conditions' on her registration following a tribunal on May 6, 2021.

The conditions imposed at the time required the doctor to notify the GMC of any new post she took up including the job title and its location, and also to provide any new employer or contracting body's contact details where she has been given 'practising privileges'.

She was also told to 'personally ensure' the GMC was told of any new post before she took up and that 'all relevant people' wre told of her conditions.

Dr Raja was also required to inform the watchdog if any disciplinary proceedings were started by her employer or contracting body or if any of her practising privileges have been suspended. She was also told to inform the GMC if she applied for a post outside the UK.

Dr Raja was also told to allow the GMC to exchange information with her employer or contracting body to whom she provides medical services. She was also told to inform her 'responsible officer', a senior doctor who oversaw her case, of any new medical role.

A spokeswoman for the GMC said at the time: "Dr Raja-Jaweed is subject to conditions that were placed by an interim orders tribunal (IOT) at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

"This means that a GMC investigation is ongoing but that conditions have been placed on the doctor’s registration."

Dr Raja's updated registry on the GMC website shows there are currently no conditions on her practice. A bulletin on the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service website states interim conditions were 'revoked' following an interim orders tribunal on October 5.

In an interview with the Manchester Evening News in 2018, Dr Raja said she was on a mission to get the non-surgical cosmetic treatment industry better regulated to protect men and women against 'backstreet botch jobs'.

The M.E.N. also reported last year that a second Cheshire-based beauty doctor was being investigated by the GMC.

Dr Roshan Ravindran, 41, who founded a £4.8m beauty clinic in Wilmslow, was told he must inform the watchdog of any new medical role he accepts while the investigation into him continues.

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He was also told he could not carry out consultations with female patients without a chaperone pending the conclusion of the probe. Later when he was suspended from practice he said the decision was an 'injustice' and said the 'the nefarious basis for this decision' would eventually be exposed.

His current register on the GMC website also shows there are now no longer any conditions on his practice.

The University of Manchester medicine graduate, who worked as a senior house officer at Wythenshawe Hospital before launching Klnik in 2018, insisted at the time the allegations did not concern his practice, and he has vowed to clear his name.

He declined to comment when approached by the M.E.N. Dr Raja has been approached for a comment.

A spokesman for the GMC declined to comment further on either case when asked about the status of the previously reported investigations into the doctors. The spokesman said: "We are not able to provide information about complaints or investigations unless the matter has been referred to a full hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service."