School Firing Not Simple : Local Boards Must Make Some Tough Decisions

The poor performance of public education has dominated the political landscape in California in recent years. Of late, the entire system has been going to the tailor shop, getting sized and measured, even put under warranty. Amid the political rhetoric, individual school systems on their own are carrying out initiatives to improve teacher performance and to deliver a better educational product.

These efforts at top-down and bottom-up reform are laudable. Yet, how will the expectations for reform actually play out in the halls of local school districts? We know that far from Sacramento, the classroom offers the actual setting in which reality checks must be made. Early in this new year, we are learning in one Orange County school district just how complex one aspect of education reform can be, the drive to weed out the bad apples from the teacher corps.

In the past month, a remarkable story has unfolded in the Capistrano Unified School District, one of the state’s suburban districts that is committed to delivering quality education while contending with the pressures of growth. On Feb. 7, 300 people jammed the district boardroom to hear diametrically opposed evaluations of a high school teacher, Paul Pflueger. The conflicting views were delivered by a chorus of administrators, parents and students. After three hours, the 18-year veteran of the high school was dismissed by a 6-1 vote of the school board.

For the district, this was a clear-cut case. Administrators argued that over the past four years, Pflueger had used offensive language with students and teachers, did not assist slow learners, had graded arbitrarily and failed to comply with suggested improvements. The district’s report detailed 42 misconduct complaints. The teacher disputes all those charges.

Against the portrait of his accusers came dramatically different assessments. Some students said this was a teacher who had motivated them to understand democracy. Others were drawn out of their shells and made to think for the first time. The portrait of an abusive instructor was countered with a picture of someone passionate and committed.

Only the immediate participants have thorough knowledge of the job performance of this individual teacher. Was he an overbearing exception or a caring idealist who pushed his students to levels of self-discovery they themselves did not realize they could achieve? Teachers, especially those moved to the passionate exercise of their craft, are more likely to be complex beings than caricatures.

While those outside the district scratch their heads, the matter moves to the higher levels of administrative review. The interlude provides partisans a chance to catch their breaths and the rest of us an opportunity to reflect on what it all means.

We all would like to have bad teachers identified and removed. No doubt, job performance can be measured. However, the Pflueger case is difficult precisely because it pushes a lot of the education hot buttons at the same time. It raises the prospect that one observer’s reform can be another’s witch hunt. One pattern of abuse can be another’s effort to end social promotions and invigorate a secondary school curriculum.

The bill of particulars against Pflueger is strong, but can any independent observer also overlook the testimony of inspired students and satisfied parents? It would be hard to find in this case some of the more widespread teacher-related problems unearthed in a series of articles in The Times last May, low standards and watered-down classes. The Capistrano Unified board no doubt believes it has ample reason to act as it did. If anything can be said conclusively about this case it is that it is not drawn up in black and white.

Ousting the bad teachers may be simple in some cases; it may not be so in others. One concern for the long term is whether reform will fall into the realm of unintended consequences. That could happen if it provides a setting in which decisions that are essentially political are made under the guise of reform. However the Pflueger case plays out on merits, this story alerts the public to the complexities of teacher evaluations in an era of desired change.