Claim Filed Against School District

The discord in the troubled Orange Unified School District continues to grow with a new claim filed by Judy Frutig, the former communications director of the district, and Barbara Bowen, who was the district’s risk manager.

The claim, filed Friday, charges the Orange Unified School District, the Orange Board of Education and eight individual members with wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation and seeks $1 million in damages for both women.

Frutig and Bowen, who were fired in late October, were told that their departments would be eliminated as part of a restructuring. that would save the district more than $200,000 annually.

“The bottom line is that [Frutig and Bowen] have been wrongfully terminated and their departments have been eliminated under the guise of budgetary reasons that don’t exist,” said Michelle Reinglass, a Laguna Hills lawyer representing the women. “We’d like to get them reinstated as well as collect damages. They’re entitled to back pay and compensation for emotional distress as well as other damages.”

A lawyer for the district said the claim lacks merit.

“The superintendent [Barbara Van Otterloo] reorganized the district after she’d been on board for a while and decided the risk management and communications departments weren’t a prudent expenditure of district funds,” said James Bowles, the Los Angeles-based lawyer for the Orange Unified School District. He added that Van Otterloo “wanted to be spokesperson for the district.”