ORANGE : Schools Official Seeks Hearing Date
An administrator in the Orange Unified School District who stands accused of tolerating sexual harassment in her office has asked a court to force the district into taking action in her case or dropping the charges.
Chief Fiscal Officer Joyce Capelle filed legal documents this week in Orange County Superior Court to order the district to set a hearing date so the issue could be resolved.
Capelle is one of three administrators who were accused of sexual harassment by the Board of Education last year. A hearing for one of the administrators is in progress.
Capelle’s lawyer, Dale Gronemeier of Pasadena, said he filed the documents on behalf of Capelle to protect her right to a speedy hearing. “The charges were filed in December and despite repeated demands to proceed, they haven’t appointed a hearing officer,” he said.
District trustees voted to demote Capelle and Transportation Director Howard Mason in December, 1993, when the allegations of sexual harassment were made public. They fired former Deputy Supt. Richard L. Donoghue, who was accused of touching employees, using sexually offensive language and distributing lewd material.
All three cases are were appealed and the administrators filed a $20-million suit against the district contending defamation.
The Superior Court is expected to hear Capelle’s petition Aug. 23.
Capelle was unavailable for comment and the district’s attorney, Spencer E. Covert, did not return telephone calls.
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