School Official in Harassment Case Returns to Work

One of two top Orange school administrators placed on temporary leave pending an investigation of sexual harassment allegations returned to work Monday and denounced the charges as “spurious” and “hurtful.”

“I was dismayed to find myself spread across the front page,” said Joyce Capelle, chief financial officer of the Orange Unified School District. “It has compromised my career and my personal life.”

Capelle, 39, and Richard L. Donoghue, 48, the district’s deputy superintendent for support services, were placed on paid temporary leave, or what officials described as “home assignment,” by interim Supt. Marilyn Corey on Nov. 23. Capelle is accused of tolerating sexual banter in the workplace, while Donoghue is accused of inappropriate touching of employees and sexually offensive language, according to transcripts from interviews conducted by the district’s attorneys.

District officials said Capelle’s resumption of duties in the office indicates only that the investigation regarding her has been completed. Any other conclusions drawn from Capelle’s return would be “purely speculative,” Corey said.

Donoghue, however, remains barred from working at district headquarters. Corey could not say Monday whether Donoghue would be allowed to come back to work before Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting.

At the board meeting, Corey is expected to make recommendations to the school board in a closed session regarding what action, if any, the district will take against the administrators. According to board policy, punishment for sexual harassment ranges from a verbal warning to termination.

Also, on Monday, Dale Gronemeier, the attorney for Capelle and Donoghue, requested that the school board hire an independent counsel to discover who leaked information about the school’s investigation to the press. Donoghue and Capelle filed a lawsuit last week against the district, Corey, two of its attorneys and an unidentified board member, charging defamation and invasion of privacy.