Mathes previously served on the Board of Education and City Council. He was Council president from 1990 to 1995.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges in U.S. District Court on Oct. 19, and is free after posting $100,000 bail. His trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 17.
In other matters, some board members raised concerns about a lack of communication between Superintendent Annette D. Knox and the board.
Knox, who has alternately been praised for her bold moves and criticized for making decisions without consulting her staff or the board, has clashed with board members and union representatives over personnel moves and contracts.
At issue last night were transfers of personnel from the district's central office to school buildings.
"What I'm seeing is more and more and more, the board is a lot like the audience," member Jose Delgado said. "We're getting reports, but we're not making decisions."
Philip Freeman, another member, agreed. "For us not to be involved in the decision-making process is inconsistent with the responsibilities of the board," he said.
But others urged the board to let Knox do her job.
"This board does not know what direction it wants to take the district in," member Rosemary Jackson said. "This board has always micromanaged this district, and that's the problem. The day-to-day operations of this district are the purview of the superintendent. That's why we hired her, and that's why we pay her all this money."
Knox defended her decision.
"There are no children in the central office," she said. "We need to have people in the schools."
Delgado said he was not criticizing Knox's decision, but her method of making it.
"The superintendent is on point with all the different initiatives. But when you start making all these revolutionary changes, the board has to be on board," he said.
