Trouble brewing on Bear Street

Visitors to Newport-Mesa Unified School District headquarters on Bear Street in Costa Mesa are instantly struck by, well, nothing in particular.

The administrative buildings appear as bland as boiled potatoes and are suffused with the muted workplace vibe typical of any boring bureaucratic establishment.

But boy, oh boy, do those still waters run deep, according to a new lawsuit brought against the district and its head administrator.

By now Daily Pilot readers are no doubt familiar with the latest legal bomb to drop on Bear Street, a complaint filed against the district and Supt. Fred Navarro by Ann Huntington, former assistant superintendent in charge of special education, and Laura Boss, NMUSD’s former communications director.

Following in the wake of another ugly legal dispute and the acrimonious departures of other administrators, this latest dispute compels the rest of us to merely gape in bewilderment and wonder what in blue blazes is going on behind that innocuous-looking facade.

The new lawsuit paints an unflattering portrait of Navarro as a scheming, self-interested Machiavellian leader who created “a culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation” against Huntington and Boss and accuses the school board of failing to address the superintendent’s abusive management style. It asks for economic and punitive damages to compensate for age discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other alleged violations.

Here’s a sampling of some of the inappropriate behavior it alleges regarding Navarro: yelling at and belittling Boss in front of her peers; plotting to push aside district personnel who were “not my people”; asking Boss to find “dirt” on a colleague, and falsely accusing Boss of snooping on board members’ emails. In addition, Huntington alleges that she was repeatedly undermined and ignored when trying to fulfill her job responsibilities, and pressured to retire prematurely.

The lawsuit is even more disturbing in light of the district’s turbulent history, most recently the legal battle waged by John Caldecott, the former human resources director. Caldecott was fired a year ago after he sued the district, contending improper salary reports were sent to the state pension fund and his concerns about the matter were brushed aside. He too has accused Navarro of creating a hostile work environment and won a court ruling ordering the release of documents relating to his claims.

A year before Caldecott’s dismissal, another district administrator, Jane Garland, resigned in protest over what she believed was the botched handling of a major cheating scandal at Corona del Mar High School. Garland, who oversaw discipline at the district, has also been highly critical of Navarro’s leadership.

In their lawsuit, Huntington and Boss claim that a formal complaint that they and Caldecott made in October 2014, which described a toxic work environment, “was not investigated and was summarily denied” by the board. They accuse the board of maintaining a “silence the messenger” approach.

All this court intrigue is even more unsettling considering that Navarro was the guy the district hired in 2012 to right the ship after the tumultuous administration of his predecessor, Jeffrey Hubbard. Former Supt. Hubbard was canned after he was found guilty of two counts of misappropriating funds while he was head of the Beverly Hills public schools; his conviction was overturned on appeal in 2014.

When Navarro first took the helm, he appeared to be a breath of fresh air, just the sort of level-headed and forward-looking superintendent that the district badly needed. I wasn’t alone in having high hopes for his leadership.

But, according to the lawsuit, that initial optimism quickly faded and the environment at district headquarters went from bad to worse, leading to Boss’ decision to resign last June and Huntington’s retirement in July. Both women claim they’ve experienced anxiety and depression as a result.

It will come as no surprise that board members and administration officials either did not respond or declined my request for interviews regarding the new lawsuit. Annette Franco, the district’s public relations officer, answered with the following:

“We are aware of the pending litigation, which has been referred to legal counsel to represent the District and Dr. Navarro. As this pending litigation, from two former employees, proceeds through the judicial system, we believe that the evidence and facts will show that these allegations are unfounded. No further comments will be provided by the District at this time.”

So they won’t answer any questions, but I can still ask. Here are just a few points I’d like to query school board members about:

Is it really that hard to find a superintendent who isn’t a source of controversy and turmoil?

Has the Board of Trustees, chosen by voters to represent them in overseeing our public schools, abrogated its responsibility and become little more than a rubber stamp for the superintendent?

Are we expected to believe that the important business of educating students won’t suffer as the district undergoes yet another costly, distracting legal episode?

Are you at all concerned that some long-time employees, people who were once considered valued professionals, are telling you that something is seriously amiss?

And I humbly suggest to the board that it should buck up, show us some backbone, get its house in order, and from now on deal with issues before they turn into scandals. Bear Street is sorely in need of a good dose of blandness for a change.

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.