District Moves to Fire Teacher for Performance

In possibly the first such case in the state, the Capistrano school district is moving to fire a tenured high school teacher under a 1995 law that makes it easier for school officials to dismiss instructors for “unsatisfactory performance.”

Capistrano Valley High School history teacher Paul Pflueger, who has taught for 20 years, is fighting accusations that he has “failed to teach his classes in a way that would enable students to understand and successfully complete assessments of their learning.”

The district gave Pflueger a statement this week listing 42 counts of misconduct. He then was asked to immediately take an administrative leave, pending a meeting before the school board Monday.

Some parents have complained about Pflueger, documents filed in the case show. But the move also has set off angry protests from scores of parents and fellow faculty who characterize Pflueger as an exceptional teacher.

But according to documents obtained by The Times, the district argues that Pflueger has used abrasive language with students, colleagues and parents. The scathing report also criticizes Pflueger’s teaching style as inappropriate and ineffective and accuses him of failing more than half of his students from 1995 to 1997.

Pflueger has disputed all the charges, including the numbers of students flunked, contending that the district based its criticisms on complaints from a handful of parents whose children did not do well in his classes. Pflueger, who is dubbed by some a “tough teacher,” said he expects high quality work from his students but treats them fairly.

“I will not dumb down my class,” Pflueger said in an interview Wednesday. “The only kids who flunk my classes are the ones who have not turned in their homework, have a lot of absences and do not study for their tests.”