Posted on 04/26/2005 9:33:07 AM PDT by BenLurkin
LANCASTER - A veteran English teacher and former English Department chairman contends he is a victim of discrimination at Antelope Valley High School. As a white male, Charles E. "Chuck" Slay says, he has been passed over by Principal Karen Patterson, an African-American woman, for projects and choice assignments.
Slay recently filed a lengthy official complaint against Patterson, who been principal of the school for the past two years.
Numerous attempts over several days to contact Patterson by telephone were unsuccessful. A secretary for Patterson said the principal would be unavailable.
District officials were unable to confirm or deny an investigation is in motion because, they said, it is a confidential personnel matter.
"If someone ever makes a complaint," said Tim Azeve do, the district's assistant superintendent of personnel, "we verify that complaint and talk to that person, and we investigate it."
However, several of those who signed on as willing to corroborate elements of the complaint confirmed that they have been interviewed by the district.
Patterson arrived at AV High two years ago after a state audit called for a new administrative team to remedy sagging test scores. She has overseen recent anti-violence efforts enacted after two massive brawls erupted at the school on consecutive days in January.
Slay has never been one to keep quiet. The Elizabeth Lake resident is an outspoken conservative and is hardly subtle about his views, which often appear in letters to the Valley Press.
In this endeavor, Slay believes he speaks for a sizeable number of AV High teachers.
"People who don't have the protection of tenure like I do have to be protected, and someone has to step up to the plate," he said. "I'm in a good position where I can file it without worrying too much about retribution."
"I would hope that she is eventually put in a position where she can no longer harm people, whatever that position is," he said.
Slay listed nearly 30 other teachers and school employees whom he says can validate his claims. Other teachers who have signed to the complaint allege Patterson engages in patterns of "vindictive" behavior and retaliates against those who question her authority.
"By the grace of tenure and my 34 years of experience, I felt safe enough to file a complaint," Slay said. "I believe if I was not a tenured teacher, she would have found a reason to terminate my employment."
Slay said his health has deteriorated as a result of what he alleges is a hostile work environment, which he further attributes to Patterson's management style.
He added, "I have 34 years in the district, and I just don't understand why someone is spending so much time and effort on me."
According to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Valley Press, Slay was repeatedly denied opportunities and assignments in favor of younger, less experienced teachers who allegedly were in better favor with Patterson.
In one case, Slay applied to be an English instructional coach in order to help raise test scores under state accountability programs.
"I felt my 33 years of teaching experience, 23 years as English Department Chair, Self Study Chair for three WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) visits, winning six years accreditation each, member of WASC visiting teams, SB 1882 Coordinator, Staff Development Coordinator, Carl Perkins Coordinator and my experience with the diverse climate at AV High would more than qualify me for the position," Slay wrote.
"The SAIT (School Assistance and Intervention Team) recommendation said the academic coaches needed to be in place by Oct. 1, 2003. Mrs. Patterson left the position open weeks past that point, rather than hire me. A female Quartz Hill High English teacher with virtually no experience with the unique school culture of AV was selected. She became a member of the all-female instructional coach group. I never received a note, letter, e-mail or any other notice that I did not get the job."
Slay contends Patterson specifically targeted teachers who questioned her methods or policies.
"At a faculty meeting I asked Mrs. Patterson how we would be compensated for our advisory period. She acted shocked and irritated and stated that no pay would be offered," Slay wrote. "A few days later she invited me into her office on an unrelated matter and, just as I was leaving, launched into a tirade about how I had 'blindsided' her in the staff meeting.
"I told her I thought I had a right to ask a legitimate question. We had a brief discussion. I left her office well aware that Ms. Patterson did not appreciate questions from the faculty."
Slay contends other teachers faced retribution, including loss of department chairperson positions, for questioning the principal.
"She has been successful in stopping all but the most mundane questions," Slay wrote. "There are plenty of people on my witness list who have paid the price for questioning her. Reprisals are quick and surgical."
Last summer, Patterson tried to reassign band teacher Joe Pincetich to physical education. Pincetich called the move a "thinly veiled slap" and went to the district office, which reinstated him as band teacher.
Pincetich, who agreed to act as a witness for Slay's complaint, believes Patterson targeted him out of malice. "It's real obvious I'm being punished here," he said. "If they just needed a P.E. teacher, there are all sorts of people all over campus who have P.E. credentials."
Asked what he might be punished for, Pincetich said, "I don't have any good, rational explanation why anyone would take a well-established band teacher in a well-established band program, unless they have some kind of personal agenda," he said. "It could be that I'm just a guy they don't like."
Another teacher confirmed that problems are widespread.
"It seems there are complaints coming from every corner of the campus," the teacher said, speaking on condition that his name not be used. "If you ever cross her, she never forgets."
Tenured public school teacher making demands and claiming 'discrimination'.
Of course because she has to be briefed by race-baiting lawyers on the correct thing to say in public.
However, to be a tenured teacher, protected by a union, and to complain that your work environment is unfair to you does strike me as slightly funny.
Despite the headline, I don't see anything that points to an explicit racial issue here.
There is a slight implication that the principal was unqualified for her position, perhaps due to affirmative action, but the situation overall appears to be all smoke and no discrimitory fire.
Bad leadership is pretty easy to find anywhere.
Hey, do you think the A.C.L.U. will jump in to help this guy out? /sarcasm off/
Well . . . there is a union involved.
Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago gives a good account of the thinking processes and administrative skills of such craetures of the state as Principal Patterson.
Why take the sarcasm out? We ALL know they won't and your reply is 100% on the money. Now, if he were Muslim ...
She's a public skool principal, also protected by a union. If people think it's hard to fire a tenured teacher, just try getting anyone in administration fired. A bad principal can ruin a great school within months. 50 great teachers can be taken out by one awful, evil principal. This woman is doing what she's doing because she knows she can pretty much do whatever she wants without fear of reprisal. Even after this lawsuit, if she does manage to be ousted as principal, she will merely be promoted to a position where she can do less harm.
...yep
2. I suspect his charges are, nevertheless, substantially correct.
Underlying this teacher's complaint is a mindset of entitlement to a job at that school under supervision acceptable to the teacher!
as a teacher-
teaching is the only job you could do badly for 34 years and no one would care.
Yeah, we had one of those kind of "administrators" in Annapolis last year, supposed to make "peace" in the racially tense high school...LOL. Her leadership style made Robert Mugabe look like a philanthrope.
She finally got the boot, but only with a great big golden parachute... one of her final acts was to try and run a meddlesome Spanish teacher off the road. Now, I'm sure she is off ed-ju-ma-cating another group of young impressionable future Jerry-Springer contestant wannabes.
Would you say that if he was not a white male conservative?
I suspect I agree with your assessment 100%. :-)
"Despite the headline, I don't see anything that points to an explicit racial issue here. "
Besides, blacks cannot be racist.
You presume to be privy to the inner workings of his mind? As a teacher, he has a choice of teaching for that district, or taking a huge pay cut and teaching for another district. It's called "the golden handcuffs" of tenure. He leaves, and his pay drops substantially, even by half or more. Such is the gubmint pay scale. Yes, it's hard to get fired, but neither can he just leave. He could cease to teach. He could get job retraining. How many private sector people have to get out of their chosen career just because of ONE bad boss? Most people just leave for a different company.
If teachers were able to change districts without a huge pay cut, many of them would do so. They have better security but worse options than private employment. When I changed jobs in the private sector I always got $8-10k more for each successive job, even if it was mostly a lateral move. My pay was not on a rigid, government-imposed pay scale that will only give teachers 3-5 years of experience credit even if they taught previously in another district for 20 years.
My wife is a school teacher and this sounds EXACTLY how the schools are run around here.
The principal reminds of me a several she has worked for.
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