Beleaguered Country Day Headmaster Won’t Return

Officials at La Jolla Country Day School ended months of speculation over the fate of its headmaster by announcing Friday that he will not return for the fall semester.

The board of the elite private school had suspended John C. Littleford, 48, in the wake of allegations brought by a former receptionist that he touched her repeatedly, made inappropriate comments and pressured her for a sexual relationship.

Her lawsuit, filed last October against Littleford and the school, was recently settled out of court for $9,250. Littleford had consistently denied the allegations of the former receptionist, now a 23-year-old student at UC Davis.

In a statement announcing that Littleford will not return, Country Day board president Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr. said Friday that “the decision involves discussions, which, out of consideration for all involved parties, should remain confidential.”

The statement said John Neiswender will serve as acting head of the school during the 1992-93 academic year, “during which time the board will decide on a formal appointment” of a new headmaster.

Smith and Littleford could not be reached for comment Friday.

Littleford came to the 906-student school, which charges tuition of $7,740 a year for upper-division students, during a time of great turmoil.

He succeeded Timothy Burns, who resigned as headmaster in 1989 after a controversy surrounding the departure of Sharon Rogers, a popular fourth-grade teacher and wife of Will Rogers III, skipper of the guided-missile cruiser Vincennes.

It was Will Rogers’ ship that in July of 1988 shot down an Iranian civil airliner, killing all 290 people aboard.

Fearing a terrorist attack after a homemade bomb destroyed Sharon Rogers’ van, Burns refused to let her return to work, a move that drew criticism even from President Bush.