School Board Fires Secretary in Harassment Case : Termination: Ocean View trustees cite ‘insubordination’ by superintendent’s aide who refused to take psychiatric test.

A secretary who complained that her boss, the superintendent of the Ocean View School District, sexually harassed her was fired Tuesday for refusing to take a psychiatric test ordered after officials determined that her charges were without merit.

The school board unanimously voted to terminate Judy Martell, 48, for “insubordination” and “job abandonment.”

Martell’s attorney, Sharon Lowsen, called the action retaliation. Martell, who has been Supt. James R. Tarwater’s executive secretary for two years, filed a complaint against him in August with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Lowsen said the complaint alleges that Martell has been physically harassed and that the superintendent has created a hostile work environment by using profanity and telling dirty jokes.

“The allegations include that Tarwater touched her in a sexual way, threatened to hit her with a clenched fist, and threw files and pens at her,” Lowsen said.

Tarwater, 48, denies the allegations. District officials said that a “thorough investigation” of the charges was conducted by an outside law firm and that there was “no evidence” to support them.

After the investigation was completed, the district stipulated that Martell could not return to work until she was evaluated by an independent psychiatrist. She also was informed that if the psychiatrist approved her return to work, she would be reassigned to another position within the district.

District officials said their request for a psychiatric evaluation is allowed under the state education code. But Lowsen said she could find no such language in the code and called the request illegal.

“They’ve decided if she filed a complaint, she must be crazy,” Lowsen said. “They have found her expendable. . . . Her complaint has been met with retaliation by the district. They are saying that she abandoned her position, but she has always been ready, willing and able to return to work. This is the thanks she is getting for trying to do the right thing.”

Martell said Tuesday that she was immediately placed on a four-day leave when she filed a sexual harassment complaint with the district on July 26. She has not returned to work since then due to “situational anxiety and stress” and “major depression,” according to disability records released by the district. Lowsen said her client’s psychiatrist has since released her to go back to work in another position.

Martell filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Aug. 2, her attorney said. Cathy Joy, the agency’s district administrator in Santa Ana, confirmed Tuesday that Martell had filed a complaint but would not disclose its content.

Tarwater said Tuesday that Martell’s charges are “totally false.”

“I see this as a disgruntled employee,” he said.

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The superintendent said there had been problems with Martell’s performance but he would not elaborate.

Martell, who said she has worked for nine superintendents in the past 20 years in various school districts, disputed allegations that there had been problems with her work. She has worked for the Ocean View district since 1991.

“I’ve had perfect evaluations and an excellent reputation with all the other superintendents,” she said.

Lowsen said the board’s decision will be appealed when it goes before the district’s personnel board for review.

School board members on Tuesday were reluctant to discuss Martell’s firing, saying it is a personnel issue. Board President Tracy Pellman said the trustees were not discussing the sexual harassment complaint at all Tuesday, but were dealing only with Martell’s employment status.

“For the protection of the employees of the district it is inappropriate for me to speak to those issues,” said trustee Allan H. Pogrand. “I have to respect the confidentiality of the employees.”

Though Ocean View is a relatively small elementary district, with 15 schools and fewer than 9,000 students, it gained national attention last spring when it went to court to oust a disabled 6-year-old from a mainstream kindergarten class who was also said to be disruptive. The effort failed, and a judge sent the boy, Jimmy Peters, back to class. Tarwater has spent months in legal battles with the child’s father, Jim Peters, drawing headlines in education publications across the country. The child is currently being home-schooled as state hearings proceed about the case. Tarwater and the district are also being targeted by a federal civil rights complaint filed by Peters.

Tarwater is halfway through his four-year contract with Ocean View. Times staff writer Anna Cekola contributed to this story.