California

Cloverdale High School Teacher Allegedly Allowed Classroom ‘Fight Club'

A Northern California high school teacher allowed multiple "fight club" type brawls during school hours in his classroom of a dozen students, authorities said Tuesday.

Federico Vargas, a 41-year-old special education teacher at Cloverdale High School in Sonoma County, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of five counts of endangering a child and 13 counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Cloverdale Police Sgt. Chris Parker said there were multiple fights on different days, with Vargas refereeing some of the mixed-martial arts type fighting. He said multiple students were injured, including one who needed medical attention.

"They weren't using weapons or anything," Parker said.

Vargas, who posted bail, could not be reached for comment. An email to his school address was returned as undeliverable, and it was not known if he had retained an attorney.

Vargas had one classroom of a dozen boys and girls for the entire school day, Parker said.

Jeremy Decker, superintendent of the Cloverdale Unified School District, told The Press Democrat of Santa Rosa that school officials contacted police after becoming aware of the alleged fighting.

"The safety of our students is of the utmost importance, and we will never ever tolerate violence on campus," Decker said.

Decker did not return a call from AP seeking comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us