Educator’s Lawsuit Accuses District of Sex Discrimination : Promotions: Officials in Simi Valley schools admit that they have never hired a woman principal but deny claims of bias.

A veteran Simi Valley educator has filed a sex-discrimination suit against the Simi Valley Unified School District alleging that she was repeatedly denied promotion because she is a woman.

Marjorie Blackburn, 60, an assistant principal at Royal High School, claims that the district has rejected her applications for several principal jobs and has never hired a woman high school principal in its 100-year history.

School officials admit both claims but said Tuesday that Blackburn was passed over in favor of more qualified candidates.

Blackburn filed the suit in Ventura County Superior Court. Last week the school district asked the court to strike most of Blackburn’s claims because they have expired under the one-year statute of limitations for sexual discrimination. A hearing on the request is set for June 4.

Blackburn originally filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in November, 1988, then sued the district in January in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, said her attorney, Christine Masters. But the suit was moved to state court March 27, Masters said.

School officials confirmed yesterday that Blackburn has applied for promotion seven times and has been passed over seven times in favor of other candidates, all men. However, Henry J. Walsh, the district’s attorney, denied Blackburn’s charges of discrimination.

“Our basic position is that she was not discriminated against because of her gender, and that the people who were selected for the open positions were the best-qualified persons that were applying,” Walsh said.

District Supt. John Duncan said Tuesday that school officials are “a little shocked” by Blackburn’s suit and her absence from work since last October. Masters said Blackburn has been on sick leave for a heart ailment.

“It’s harmful and it’s very hurtful and it strikes at your dignity as a professional,” Blackburn said of the alleged discrimination. “The resulting anger can affect your health and your performance on the job.”

Duncan admitted that the district has never hired a woman as a senior high school principal in its 100-year history.

“That’s probably true of a huge majority of districts at the high school level,” Duncan said. “There have not been any females who aspired to that.”

He also pointed out that there have been few openings--Simi Valley High School has had only two principals in the past 16 years, Royal High School has had three and Apollo Continuation High School has had but one.

Blackburn said that despite 21 years’ experience in the district and a Ph.D. in education administration from USC, she has been passed over repeatedly because of her gender.

Blackburn’s applications were rebuffed for these jobs: district curriculum director in 1982; Valley View Junior High School principal in 1982; Sinaloa Junior High School principal in 1983. Each time, she was turned down by letter or word of mouth with no explanation of why a man had been hired instead.

In 1984 Blackburn applied for the principal’s job at Royal High School and became one of the three top candidates, along with John Fitzpatrick and David Ellis, Duncan said.

The district hired Fitzpatrick.

Later that year, Blackburn’s suit alleges, she was not even considered for the job of Simi Valley High School principal because the district hired Ellis.

In October, 1987, Fitzpatrick announced that he was leaving to work in another district, and Blackburn wanted to apply to replace him as Royal High School principal, her suit alleges.

The suit alleges that district Personnel Director Robert Marcus told Blackburn that she could either work as acting principal or apply for the job--but that she could not do both.

Marcus explained Tuesday that acting principals have an unfair “political” advantage over candidates who can show their skills only through interviews, resumes and references.

“I think she was a little frustrated in having been passed over, but she was never passed over because she was a woman,” Marcus said.

Blackburn took the job of acting principal and later was permanently replaced by David Jackson.

In 1988 she applied and was again rejected for the job of Sinaloa Junior High School principal.

Blackburn said she filed the suit in hopes of helping other women in the district “down the line.”