State Presses Case Against Principal

In the first hearing of its kind in California, state authorities Tuesday sought to enforce the 10-day suspension of a San Fernando Valley elementary school principal accused of harassing a teacher who had filed a complaint against the district.

The state Commission on Teacher Credentialing is seeking support from Administrative Law Judge David B. Rosenman for its suspension last year of Jacklyn Thompson’s teaching and administrative credentials. The commission took action after it concluded that, as principal of Nestle Avenue Elementary School in Tarzana, Thompson had unfairly disciplined one of her teachers in 1990.

The commission cited a new regulation forbidding school officials from retaliating against “whistle-blowing” employees. The hearing that began Tuesday is the first administrative proceeding to be brought under that code, according to commission officials.

The case stems from a grievance filed with the commission by teacher Sheila Hopper, who contends that Thompson punished her because of a series of complaints she lodged with state and federal agencies over what was later determined to be the Los Angeles Unified School District’s mishandling of special-education students.

Soon after the district was found to be out of compliance, Thompson suspended Hopper for 15 days without pay, charging the veteran instructor with pushing a student in class and causing him to fall. Police dismissed the accusation for lack of evidence, and Hopper’s appeal of her suspension was upheld by an arbitrator.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Howard Friedman, the district lawyer representing Thompson, argued that his client had “no basis for the intention to retaliate” because Hopper’s complaints over treatment of pupils were filed against the district, not Thompson herself.

“It might be a fair inquiry if Ms. Hopper wanted to accuse the district entity of some form of retaliation,” Friedman said in an interview before the hearing. “But in this instance, she’s trying to accuse one individual person and destroy that person’s livelihood.”

Friedman contends that Thompson acted in good faith after receiving complaints about Hopper’s conduct in the classroom, particularly regarding an allegation of possible child abuse. But now, Hopper, though exonerated by the arbitrator, is pursuing Thompson out of “a persecution complex,” Friedman said.

“Sheila Hopper has the misimpression that she is a Joan of Arc, that she is a crusader on her own,” he said, adding that other complaints against the district have been filed without officials retaliating afterward. “It would make a nice movie script, but it’s not the facts.”

For her part, Hopper, who began testifying Tuesday, has described Thompson, now principal of Chandler Elementary School in Van Nuys, as a vindictive woman who misuses authority.

“Some people do not handle power well and become abusive, and Jacklyn is one of those people,” she said. “I have no doubt I will prevail on this. I have been in the district for 20 years. I am an outstanding teacher. I have been an outspoken child advocate--anyone who knows me knows that.”

Deputy Atty. Gen. Jonathan R. Davis, the state commission’s lawyer, said Thompson’s 15-day suspension of Hopper--the most severe penalty allowable under teacher contracts--was not a coincidence, coming soon after the district was judged out of compliance with educational regulations.