Pflueger to Take Early Retirement, Ending Fight With School District

Former Capistrano Valley High School teacher Paul Pflueger, who was fighting his dismissal for controversial teaching methods, has agreed to take early retirement because he says he could not afford to continue his legal battle against the school district.

Pflueger was fired by the Capistrano Unified school board in February on the grounds of unsatisfactory performance and has been on administrative leave while his appeal was pending.

Although there were frequent complaints about his unorthodox teaching methods and sometimes abrasive approach, Pflueger’s case drew testimonials and letters of support from hundreds of current and former Mission Viejo students and parents.

He had vowed to fight the dismissal. But the 18-year history teacher entered a settlement with the school district on July 30 after he learned that the teachers union wanted him to begin paying a portion of his legal bills. The union had been covering most of Pflueger’s expenses until that time.

“I would like this thing to have gone a long way so we could prove to the parents and students who have supported me that they can’t get rid of a teacher just because [of] a few unorthodox methods,” Pflueger said. “The sad part to me is that even though so many people spoke on my behalf, . . . we never got to show the evidence” in a formal hearing.

A hearing before an administrative law judge was scheduled to begin at the end of this month and could have lasted several months, Pflueger said.

The state’s largest teachers union, the California Teachers Assn., has spent $46,000 on Pflueger’s case, according to Chris Kirkland, executive director of the union’s local affiliate, the Capistrano Unified Education Assn.

Kirkland said the Capistrano local had offered Pflueger an additional $2,500 and was prepared to contribute another $2,500 if he matched that payment with his own money.

“This particular case would require many days of hearings. This would be an unusual expense,” Kirkland said. “Everyone is aware that Paul Pflueger has been on administrative leave for some time, and that he was not required to work and that perhaps he could be generating some funds of his own.”

Pflueger has received private donations of about $5,000.

School board members voted 6 to 1 to remove Pflueger after an emotional meeting attended by about 300 people. Scores of parents and students spoke in his defense. Capistrano Valley High School administrators had leveled 42 charges against the teacher, claiming he taught inconsistently, used offensive language, graded arbitrarily and failed to comply with suggested improvements.

Pflueger’s defenders portrayed him as a caring and dedicated teacher who inspired students and challenged them to think for themselves. His rough manner was a valuable part of his teaching approach, some argued.

Under the terms of the settlement, Pflueger will remain on administrative leave until June. He will be entitled to the same medical benefits as any retiree, according to the school district’s lawyer, David Larsen.

Larsen estimates Pflueger’s case has cost the school district upward of $50,000 in legal fees. An administrative hearing could have cost Capistrano Unified an additional $100,000, in addition to the cost of Pflueger’s salary throughout the duration of the case, Larsen said.

“From the district’s perspective, the agreement accomplished [its] objectives,” Larsen said. “I think the district feels like it has established the precedent that it needed to establish, and that’s what its expectations are” for teacher performance.

Pflueger said the district offered him another teaching position in its continuation home school programs, which he rejected.

“A lot of that is just passing out papers,” he said. “I wasn’t interested in that.”

Even after Pflueger was dismissed, he rented a room at his own expense and offered students a free lesson to help them prepare for their Advanced Placement exam in U.S. history, his former subject.

Pflueger said Friday that he misses his students.

“I’d like to be back in the classroom getting them ready for life and further education, and I thought I was one of the best at that,” he said.

The Laguna Beach resident said he will pursue another job in education, perhaps working at a junior college or teaching teachers.

“I believe in the democratic process of public education,” he said. “I’ll continue to be involved in education one way or another.”