What is Going on?

The Museum: March Field Air Museum (we'll just call it the Museum) is a 501(c)(3) organization, a nonprofit, and is run by a board of directors.

The October Terminations: In October of 2025, three long-time museum employees were informed that they were being fired: the collections manager, the archivist, and the restoration assistant. They were told that the terminations were related to financial difficulties suffered by the Museum. The employees were blindsided by the terminations - and they weren't the only ones. Several board members told CalMatters that in an apparent violation of the Museum’s bylaws, they were not informed about the plan for the terminations, let alone allowed to vote on the matter.

At present count, at least 24 volunteers and employees have left the museum, disgusted with its leadership and direction.

Reason for Firings: The Museum's leadership has given conflicting reasons regarding the terminations. The Board's secretary claimed that the museum is “not facing financial difficulty" but then stated that the collections staff was cut to redirect funds toward hiring a qualified executive director. In an October 9 email obtained by CalMatters, Board President Jamil Dada wrote of “recent budget shortfalls.”

Event Center vs. Museum: At a staff meeting held shortly after the firings, attendees told CalMatters that Mr. Dada and the Vice President of the Board – Mel Gutierrez - discussed downsizing the aircraft collection and expanding event space. Attendees described a packed room where leadership mentioned a revised mission and plans to eliminate the archives and sell selected aircraft and artifacts to fund further event space.

Why So Secret? Numerous issues have come to light, including alleged violations of the museum's bylaws, allegations of financial mismanagement, alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and responsibilities. Once the public started asking questions, the Museum’s leadership responded with secrecy; in fact, they hired armed security to physically block the public from attending its November Board of Directors Meeting. The Museum has outright refused to give documents to members of the board of directors – documents that they are entitled, and required, to review in order to understand what is happening in the museum. Good faith questions and inquiries are met with hostility.

Bylaws Schmylaws? According to current board members, the foundation’s bylaws require board approval for staffing changes. The bypassing of this process raises serious governance concerns. The following practices have been cited as concerns:

  • Taking actions without prior board approval

  • Removing executive board members before their terms were up

  • Adding/changing executive committee members without prior board approval

  • Forming committees without prior board approval

  • Failing to remove board members who do not attend meetings

  • Adversarial board meetings/not open and free to exchange ideas

Where is the Accountability? The board is made up of people who have been there for decades – not to mention that Mr. Dada has been President of the Board for over 24 years. The apparent and alleged violations of the bylaws, the refusal to provide documents in accordance with state law to members of the board, and other actions taken.

This just scratches the surface – more information will be added as soon as possible. This is an ongoing battle, and there have been so many developments, information obtained and discovered, that this explanation will need to be updated.

But don’t just take our word for it – we will be posting interviews, links to evidence and documents referenced in our post, and other information to help keep the public informed and to promote accountability and transparency on the part of the board of directors.