A California school district fired its superintendent through a school board vote Tuesday after an investigation into her conduct.
In November, students on the Del Norte High School softball team alleged that Poway Unified School District Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps threatened their graduation privileges over a perceived slight of her daughter, who was on the team.
They addressed the school board at a meeting, alleging that Phelps believed the group had not clapped loudly enough for her daughter, NBC San Diego reported at the time.
After a softball awards banquet last May, students say, Phelps called and texted some of them late that night accusing them of not clapping for her daughter at the ceremony, NBC San Diego reported. Phelps then threatened to revoke their graduation privileges if they didn’t apologize to her daughter, the students alleged.
Coach Tom Peronto said at a school board meeting last year that he alerted the board to Phelps’ “abuse of power” and that his livelihood was threatened as a result.
“Because I had exposed these abuses and emails to the board members, she then falsely accused me of verbally attacking a member of the board in the district parking lot, using this as justification to have me fired from coaching softball at Del Norte,” Peronto said.
Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, the school board president, said the board voted to terminate Phelps’ contract during a closed session Tuesday following an investigation that was launched Nov. 15 and ended on April 18. The probe reviewed many documents and statements from 41 witnesses, which contradicted Phelps’ accounts.
“Based on her conduct, as revealed to the Board through the investigation, the Board has lost all confidence and trust in Dr. Phelps’ ability to continue to serve as Superintendent, as well as in her ability to continue to work collaboratively with the Board as part of Poway Unified’s governance team,” O’Connor-Ratcliff said.
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Author: Marty Kaufmann
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