Judge agrees with auditors

Source: Union Tribune

No higher pensions for ex-school officials

By Chris Moran
STAFF WRITER
April 27, 2006

SAN YSIDRO – The $15,000 raises two San Ysidro school administrators got just weeks before their retirement in 2002 do not qualify them for higher publicly funded pensions, an administrative law judge has ruled.

The judge agreed with retirement system auditors who found that the San Ysidro school board gave the raises to boost the pensions of former assistant superintendents Christine Aranda and Alice De La Torre. That is an illegal practice known as spiking.

Aranda and De La Torre requested a hearing, which was in September, to challenge the audit by the California State Teachers' Retirement System. The judge issued a decision this month, and the ruling must go to the CalSTRS board for approval. That probably will happen in June, an agency spokeswoman said.

In 2004, CalSTRS put a stop to the higher retirement payments and put Aranda and De La Torre on installment plans to repay the surplus pension money they had received. Neither they nor the San Ysidro School District face additional sanctions.

CalSTRS did not dispute the legality of the raises. It found only that those raises should not be used in calculating retirement benefits.

De La Torre and Aranda both said they had not yet decided whether to continue contesting the issue.

The case began in June 2002. It was then that the board increased the salaries of Aranda and De La Torre from $104,494 to $120,000 a year, retroactive to the previous July.

The San Ysidro district gave CalSTRS two reasons for the raises: to recognize Aranda and De La Torre's increased workload under an inexperienced superintendent and to persuade them not to retire.

The incentive didn't work. De La Torre retired three weeks after the raise and Aranda retired six weeks after the board's action. Their replacements were given $106,000 salaries.

The board fired Superintendent Jose Torres the same day it gave the raises to Aranda and De La Torre.

The state teachers' retirement fund accrues through contributions from employees, school districts, the state general fund and investment earnings.

Each retiree's age, years of employment and highest salary figures into the retirement benefits. CalSTRS calculated that the last-minute raises added $1,189 to De La Torre's monthly pension check and $869 to Aranda's, an increase that was estimated to add up to nearly $300,000 combined over their lifetimes.

In her proposed decision, Administrative Law Judge Vallera Johnson recapped that Aranda and De La Torre took on extra work, such as teacher union negotiations, a task generally handled by the superintendent.

The current San Ysidro board spent $72,000 in legal fees on the case before dropping its opposition to the CalSTRS findings. Aranda and De La Torre then hired their own attorney to represent them in a hearing in September.

Both are still active in South County, Aranda as a trustee on the board of Southwestern College and De La Torre with several volunteer organizations.

Audit finds 2 pensions were hiked

School administrators given illegal boost, challenge says

Source: San Diego Union Tribune>
By Chris Moran
STAFF WRITER

August 13, 2005

SAN YSIDRO – The San Ysidro school board illegally jacked up the publicly funded pensions of two administrators by more than $10,000 a year each as they retired in 2002, auditors have found.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System is challenging the pension increases to former associate superintendents Christine Aranda and Alice De La Torre. Within weeks of their retirements, the San Ysidro board gave retroactive raises that boosted their annual pay by more than $15,000 each.

Aranda's retirement benefits increased by $869 a month as a result of the raise she got six weeks before retiring as San Ysidro's associate superintendent of educational services, according to a CalSTRS document calling for a reversal of the pension increase. Aranda is now board president of Southwestern College.

De La Torre's monthly pension check went up by $1,189 because of the raise she got three weeks before she retired as associate superintendent of human resources, according to the same CalSTRS document.

CalSTRS does not object to the salary raises themselves but claims the school board granted the raises for the purpose of inflating De La Torre's and Aranda's pensions. That practice, which CalSTRS calls "spiking," is prohibited by state law.

CalSTRS found that retirements so soon after the raises and the board's replacement of Aranda and De La Torre with assistant superintendents at lower salaries were proof that the board was spiking their pensions.

Aranda had no comment on the case. De La Torre could not be reached for comment.

CalSTRS is a retirement fund for teachers of kindergarten through community college. It's funded by contributions from public school teachers and administrators, their school district employers, state general fund money and interest earnings.

Retirees' benefits are based in part on the highest salaries they earned. CalSTRS estimates that if the last-minute raises are figured in, Aranda and De La Torre would, between them, receive nearly $300,000 more in pension payments over their lifetimes than they would if the raises were excluded from the calculations.

The current San Ysidro board, after having spent $72,000 in legal fees on the case, has voted not to contest CalSTRS in next month's hearing before an administrative law judge to decide whether Aranda and De La Torre get to keep the increased pension benefits. Aranda and De La Torre have hired an attorney.

Last year, CalSTRS put the retired administrators on an installment plan to repay the extra pension benefits they had already received, said Wendy Tucker, the attorney who represented San Ysidro until the district pulled out of the case.

The case arises from a particularly turbulent era in the 5,100-student district with an annual budget of $39 million.

An account from documents obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune through a public records request show that in early 2002 Aranda and De La Torre felt they were working in a hostile work environment.

Dr. Jose Torres had been hired as superintendent in November 2001 and barred Aranda and De La Torre from attending some meetings and "went so far as to publicly humiliate and demean them," according to the district's response to the CalSTRS audit findings.

Because of Torres' inexperience, his "disruptive" impact on employees and his conflict with the board, Aranda and De La Torre carried a heavier load than they had under his predecessor, the 13-page response states. The duties included labor negotiations with teachers who came close to striking in February 2002.

On June 8, 2002, the board fired Torres. At that same meeting, by a vote of 3-1 with one abstention, it changed the titles of Aranda and De La Torre from assistant superintendent to associate superintendent and each got an annual raise of $15,506, retroactive to July 1, 2001.

The raises were approved in part as an incentive to keep Aranda and De La Torre working for the district.

It didn't work. Aranda retired six weeks later, including a three-week stint as interim superintendent. De La Torre retired three weeks after she received her retroactive raise. They both retired at annual salaries of $120,000.

CalSTRS would not release information on the retirees' total retirement compensation, only the amount at stake. But retirees with decades of experience often receive pensions nearly as great as their highest salaries.

Trustees Jean Romero and Yolanda Hernandez, the only trustees still on the five-member San Ysidro board from three years ago, both said that the district's attorney said the raises were legal and that they were not granted to boost retirement pay.

Romero was the only trustee to vote against the raises, "because it didn't feel right," she said. Romero said the board shouldn't have been doling out hefty pay raises in a crisis atmosphere. Rather, she said, raises should have been tied to achievement, as in the case of Grace Kojima, who retired as superintendent in 2001 and came back to serve as interim superintendent for several months in 2002.

Hernandez said she not only believes Aranda and De La Torre deserved the raises but also that they should keep the pension increases even though the district has withdrawn from the case.

"They're very valuable and they helped the district a lot, especially in those difficult times," Hernandez said.

A spokeswoman for CalSTRS would not comment on why San Ysidro was audited. She said audits are regularly scheduled but can also occur as a result of tips or because of red flags, such as dramatic salary changes.

Growth at center of debate in Del Mar school board race

Chris Moran
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Oct 28, 1998. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- If test scores like this could be bottled and sold, the demand would make the Del Mar Union School District the second coming of Coca-Cola.

Del Mar's 2,130 students on average are doing better on standardized tests than about 80 percent of their peers nationally, in some cases better than 90 percent.

The good schools may never have been a secret, but now they're a certifiable craze. People are flocking to half-million-dollar homes in Carmel Valley in part to send their kids to the schools. Enrollment at the district's fourth school, full before it even opened in September, soared by 100 students in four months.

That's the curse of success, and it figures to be the major issue in November's school board election.

There's no discontent about the way things are going, just an undercurrent of apprehension about the way things might be. Growth has caused so much tension that when a parent suggested at a board meeting last year that the district wasn't doing enough to manage it, the superintendent responded by threatening to sue for defamation.

The superintendent, Robert Harriman, is gone for reasons that neither he nor the district have ever fully disclosed. He resigned as part of a settlement that will pay him as much as $166,420.

The parent, Sonja Erion, 41, is one of six candidates for three seats in the November school board election. Others are incumbent Mindy Disraeli, 40, lobbyist Jim Lantry, 45, parent Barbara Myers, 47, teacher David Smiley, 49, and incumbent board president Jeanne Waite, 47.

Growth has so overwhelmed the district that children from new homes are being bused to older schools, shut out by overcrowding at their neighborhood schools.

"There's a certain lack of stability when you're expanding at that rate," Erion said.

And from Erion's perspective, her children could be making friends at Del Mar Heights School only to lose them when they get transferred east as slots open in schools on the other side of Interstate 5.

"By drawing (attendance) boundaries in a different way, perhaps we could generate some amount of stability," Erion said. "I don't know if that's possible."

Erion said her credentials for a school board position include her years of volunteering in the schools and her willingness to speak up for change.

Challenger Jim Lantry also questioned the district's management of growth. He said when he moved to Harwick Lane in Carmel Valley, children on his block attended three different schools. He decried the busing of children from his neighborhood to the other side of I- 5.

"Funds that should be going to teaching our children will be used to transport them out of their neighborhoods instead," he wrote in his candidate statement. "We need to build schools when our children need them, not afterward."

Last year Del Mar bused about 200 children from Carmel Valley to Del Mar. With the opening of Ashley Falls School in September, only about 30 students are being bused, said Superintendent Tom Bishop.

Lantry is a lobbyist who has negotiated with developers and cities. He said he's willing and qualified to negotiate on the district's behalf with the city of San Diego over the joint-use park space at school sites. Because part of the Del Mar Union School District is within San Diego city limits, the two jurisdictions have to strike land-use deals for new school openings.

Lantry proposes more music and arts programs for district schools, which he said could be paid for partially through cuts in transportation under a neighborhood school plan.

Appointed incumbents Waite and Disraeli have served on a board that's opened a new school and planned another, hired a new superintendent and presided over state-funded reduction of class sizes.

Waite explained that Del Mar has planned well for growth but that the convergence of a sudden economic boom that's fueled rapid construction in Carmel Valley and class-size reduction has created a sudden space crunch. Not only that, she said, but the crunch has been concentrated east of I-5.

She answered criticisms of busing with a hypothetical question: "Where do you cut the quality for not busing the kids over to this (west) side of the freeway?" Busing distributes students evenly throughout the schools and prevents overcrowding that could detract from learning, she said.

State mandates on planning, design and construction limit how soon the district can build new schools, she said.

She pledges continued quality teaching, new school construction and smart money management in the next four years.

Disraeli said the district deserves credit for planning the new Ashley Falls School years before the economic boom. She said in answer to critics of the pace at which Del Mar is proceeding that if the economy had suddenly suffered, Ashley Falls could be opening with only 300 students instead of its 550 capacity.

She said board members, teachers, administrators and parents will convene a three-day retreat in October to draw up the district's first five-year plan. Also, the board has hired the architect for the district's fifth school with a goal of opening it in two years.

Disraeli said her goal for the next four years is to "have this tremendous growth without compromising our education." She also hopes that eventually all children in the district will be able to attend their neighborhood school.

Myers has volunteered as a classroom aide, PTA president and school site council member. She said she offers a familiarity with district schools and administrators but does not intend to introduce new policies.

"If you have something good, why change it?" she said.

She said she thought the current board had prepared well for the growth spurt, and that in any case there's not much the district can do about the rate of new construction. She also praised the board members for their professionalism and for not leaking to the public information about sensitive issues.

Myers, Waite and Disraeli are running as a slate.

"Under the leadership of Jeanne Waite, Mindy Disraeli and the school board members, the Del Mar district continues to earn its reputation as one of the finest in California. I share their commitment," Myers said in released statement.

Erion responded to the slate announcement by saying, "While I admire Myers for her volunteer work, I feel she lacks the willingness to openly face critical issues in the district." Erion brought up the September 1997 meeting at which she criticized the district and produced a tape of the discussion in which Myers said, "If people don't like it they should go somewhere else."

Smiley, a teacher at Earl Warren Junior High School in Solana Beach, also praised the board's performance and students' test scores as an indicator that they are mastering reading, writing and math. But he would like to expand the schools' offerings.

"I would like to add an element of culture to the schools, music appreciation and drama," Smiley said.

He said he'd also like to implement a more explicit policy to handle cases of harassment of students, either by teachers or by other students, to help ensure school safety. He advocates more teaching of tolerance and diversity utilizing curriculum such as that devised by the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that honored him with a teacher-appreciation award this year.

"Living in a predominantly white community (last year the school population was 87.6 percent white), that can be an issue -- appreciating others," Smiley said.

Finally, Smiley said his experience as a junior high school teacher gives him insight into what students need to do in elementary school to prepare for later grades.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Del Mar names schools leader | Jamul-Dulzura's Bishop is chosen

Chris Moran
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Mar 28, 1998. pg. B.1.5

DEL MAR -- Thomas F. Bishop, superintendent of an East County school district that has won numerous awards for its high-quality schools, has been named superintendent of the Del Mar Union School District.

"This man has tremendous energy and passion for kids and education," said Del Mar school board President Jeanne Waite.

The board chose Bishop, superintendent of the Jamul-Dulzura Union School District since 1986, from among 39 applicants. Waite said Bishop's work in building a new middle school, modernizing elementary schools, securing a technology grant for Internet connections and presiding over the passage of a $9 million school bond in 1995 impressed the Del Mar board.

Bishop, 48, currently runs a three-school district with 1,200 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students.

"I like small school districts because there's a genuine sense of community," Bishop said. "Working in a small school district allows a superintendent to know all the employees, many parents and some of the community."

He will begin working part time in Del Mar on May 4, dividing his time between Del Mar and Jamul-Dulzura until June 29, when he begins working full time for Del Mar.

"To keep the quality of education as our district grows will be a challenge," Waite said. The Del Mar district has some 1,870 students in three kindergarten-through-sixth-grade schools. Explosive growth in Carmel Valley is expected to increase enrollment by 10 percent in the fall, when the district opens its fourth school.

A release issued by Del Mar and Bishop notes that Jamul-Dulzura schools have won National Blue Ribbon Excellence awards in 1989 and 1996, state Distinguished School awards in 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1997, and a California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award in 1997.

The board plans to ratify a contract with Bishop at its Tuesday meeting. Waite would not specify what Bishop's salary will be before the board ratifies his contract, but said it would be similar to the $106,000 salary former Superintendent Robert Harriman was paid.

Harriman led the district for 13 years, but was put on administrative leave in October for reasons that neither he nor the board have fully disclosed. He resigned in December under an agreement that will pay him as much as $166,420.

Del Mar officials performed their search confidentially and never publicly named any candidates for the job until their announcement that Bishop was their choice.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

School board to quiz 4 mystery candidates

Chris Moran
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Mar 14, 1998. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- Four anonymous school administrators will come to town next week to make their pitches to run Del Mar's elementary schools.

The five school board members who will interview the mystery visitors won't identify them -- not their names, gender, ethnicity or state of residence. In fact, four won't talk about the search at all, deferring to board president Jeanne Waite for comment.

By early April, Waite said, the board expects to announce its choice.

"With all of the tremendous growth in our district, we look forward to identifying a superintendent that will move us into the next century," Waite said.

The candidates' identities are being shielded for fear that public knowledge of their candidacy could hurt their relationship with their present employers, Waite said.

Waite commended the performance of Interim Superintendent Herb Farrar, but said that his role is limited largely to caretaker and information gatherer until a permanent replacement arrives. Authority to establish a vision through which the kindergarten- through-sixth-grade district can tackle its challenges -- namely growth -- resides in a permanent leader, she said.

The growth is stunning. The current enrollment of 1,872 is distributed among three schools. A fourth is under construction in Carmel Valley. The district's projected enrollment when the school opens in September is 2,067, a 10 percent student population increase in one year.

Waite said the district may build two more schools within the next three years.

The school board placed former Superintendent Robert Harriman on administrative leave on Oct. 18 for reasons that neither board members nor Harriman have fully disclosed.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Del Mar names schools leader | Superintendent will serve on interim basis

Chris Moran
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Dec 11, 1997. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- Herb Farrar will serve as superintendent of Del Mar elementary schools until trustees hire a permanent successor to Robert Harriman, board members decided last night.

Farrar, 60, retired in July after 18 years as superintendent of Imperial County schools, a position to which he was elected five times.

He takes over from the three principals and other school administrators who assumed Harriman's duties after he was placed on administrative paid leave Oct. 18.

Farrar said he hopes his stewardship of the district, expected to last through April, "will be a time of healing," following Harriman's departure.

Harriman led the Del Mar Union School District for 13 years before school trustees placed him on leave for reasons that neither he nor trustees have fully disclosed.

Harriman had demanded an explanation for the decision, but then resigned on Dec. 4 under an agreement that will pay him as much as $166,420.

Harriman has said the leave dealt with statements he made in anger during a September school board meeting.

At the meeting, critics contended that school administrators were not doing enough to ease overcrowding in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms.

"We have been called incompetent and many other different things that we highly resent, and we aren't going to put up with it," Harriman said.

"This may be the first time a school district sues a parent, or parents, as you will, for actual defamation of character and libel."

Farrar said he will not be a candidate for the permanent position. He starts Monday as the top administrator for a district of three schools with an enrollment of 1,852 kindergarten through sixth-grade students.

The district's fourth school is scheduled to open next year.

Farrar moved to San Diego last month after a 38-year career in Imperial County schools. He taught elementary school and served as an assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent before his election as superintendent.

He is the 1997 Imperial County Educator of the Year.

In other business, board members re-elected Jeanne Waite as president of the board.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Del Mar schools chief resigns | Harriman to be paid for 18 more months

Anna Cearley
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Dec 5, 1997. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- Nearly two months after being put on administrative leave as superintendent of the Del Mar Union School District, Robert Harriman decided his own fate yesterday by submitting a letter of resignation.

Under an agreement worked out by lawyers for both sides, and unanimously approved by the school board last night, Harriman is entitled to receive payments over the next 18 months totaling as much as $166,420, as long as he is unemployed.

He will also get continued health and welfare benefits for up to 18 months, or until he gets his next job. His resignation is effective Dec. 31, and the benefits start in January.

Harriman was put on administrative paid leave Oct. 18 for reasons that neither he nor school trustees would disclose fully. However, Harriman said it had something to do with statements he made in anger at a September school board meeting.

Last night, the superintendent had been scheduled to defend himself against a list of school board concerns presented to him last month. Trustees were then expected to vote on his fate, and possibly reassign him as a teacher in the district.

But Harriman did not attend the special meeting at Del Mar Heights School and trustees announced his resignation to about 30 members of the public there.

In the agreement approved last night, both parties say Harriman always received good job evaluations and that he "successfully served the district as its superintendent for 13 years, and that the employee was a dedicated, hard-working and competent superintendent."

Trustees declined further comment.

Harriman did not return phone calls.

During last night's scheduled meeting, trustees had been expected to vote on three key issues: whether Harriman was in breach of his contract, whether trustees should release him as superintendent, and whether he should be reassigned to a teaching position.

Some members of the public said they attended expecting to get insight as to exactly why the superintendent had been put on administrative leave.

Trustees ordered Harriman, 59, on administrative paid leave after holding a closed-door meeting on his job performance.

The action came following the trustees' earlier renewal of Harriman's four-year contract, effective in July, said Julie Dubick, an attorney for Harriman. She added that there was no hint of problems in previous job reviews.

In late November, after additional closed-door meetings, Harriman received a packet of materials from trustees detailing the reasons he was placed on leave.

Although he did not reveal details, Harriman said then that he would ask for a public hearing so he could provide a counter- argument. He said issues dealt with personality, management and personnel concerns.

He acknowledged, however, that one concern stemmed from remarks he made in a September board meeting in which critics contended that the Del Mar Union School District wasn't doing enough to ease overcrowding in the fourth and fifth grades.

"We have been called incompetent and many other different things that we highly resent and we aren't going to put up with it," Harriman said during the meeting. "This may be the first time a school district sues a parent,or parents, as you will, for actual defamation of character and libel."

No lawsuit was ever filed, according to school officials. But Harriman's statements prompted some parents to express their concerns with trustees, questioning just how free they are to speak out.

During Harriman's absence, three principals and other administrators assumed his duties in the 1,860-student district.

School officials said they expect to hire an interim superintendent immediately as they start a search for a long-term successor to Harriman.

Mary Farrell, one of the people present at last night's meeting, said she supported the board's actions over the past months.

"I'd like to commend the board for their discretion and dignity," she said. "I think that it's important to look forward and continue educating our children in the best way possible."

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Schools leader seeks a hearing | Del Mar chief wants accusations explained

Anna Cearley
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Nov 19, 1997. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- The school board has finally told Superintendent Robert Harriman why it put him on paid administrative leave a month ago, but Harriman is not saying what those reasons are.

Instead, he is demanding a public hearing to explain the quarter- inch-thick list of documents he received Monday by certified mail.

"I am going to ask for a public hearing and I want every accusation answered for," said Harriman, who is resting at home after being hospitalized Friday with chest pains.

Harriman said the documents appear to indicate that the school board "doesn't want me as their superintendent." He said they are not a dismissal notice but suggest that the board is evaluating his fitness to remain at his job.

"They seem to have to do with personality, management and personnel issues over the past 10 years," he said.

Harriman declined further comment yesterday, partly because he had not examined the entire packet, he said.

Harriman, 59, was put on paid leave Oct. 18, one month after a meeting in which he angered critics who contended that the Del Mar Union School District wasn't doing enough to ease overcrowding in the fourth and fifth grades.

No one is commenting on whether his statements at that September meeting or his handling of overcrowding is connected to Harriman's leave.

But ever since he was put on leave, Harriman and his attorneys have been demanding an explanation from the district.

School district attorney Woody Merrill would not confirm or deny that the superintendent had been sent the documents.

"It is the district's responsibility to maintain confidentiality, and that is different from his (Harriman's) because we are the employer, so I'm not in a position to say anything," Merrill said yesterday. "I can't comment on whether they've given him anything or whether it entitles him to a public hearing."

The school board reported no actions taken at two closed-door meetings last week, but Merrill said the only personnel actions that the board can talk about are those related to appointments, hirings or dismissals.

School board president Jeanne Waite said requesting a public hearing is one option available to Harriman. Though she declined further comment on any school board actions, she said last week that board members "are working very hard to get a resolution to the situation."

During Harriman's absence, three principals and other administrators have assumed his duties in the 1,860-student district. Trustees placed Harriman on leave one month after a school board meeting in which Del Mar Hills School Principal Gary Wilson said a parent made derogatory and demeaning comments about the district's efforts to deal with overcrowding.

"We have been called incompetent and many other different things that we highly resent and we aren't going to put up with it," Harriman said during the meeting. "This may be the first time a school district sues a parent, or parents, as you will, for actual defamation of character and libel."

No such lawsuit has been filed, school district officials said. Harriman has defended his statements but acknowledged that his language was perhaps too strong.

Julie Dubick, an attorney for Harriman, said the school board recently renewed Harriman's four-year contract, effective July 1997, and there was no hint of problems in previous job reviews.

The fourth and fifth grades at Carmel Del Mar, Del Mar Heights and Del Mar Hills schools averaged from 26.3 to 29.33 pupils per class in September, compared with the desired average of 27 pupils, according to Del Mar Union enrollment figures.

During the September school board meeting, the superintendent referred to a Sept. 4 letter that he sent out to parents addressing class sizes. In it, he suggested creating a combination fourth- and fifth-grade class at Del Mar Hills School, providing additional teacher aides for the students in those grades.

Shortly after that meeting, a half-time teacher was hired at Del Mar Hills to work with small groups of students. A teacher's aide has also been hired at Del Mar Heights.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

School chief wants leave status explained

Anna Cearley
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Nov 15, 1997. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- Attorneys for Superintendent Robert Harriman are continuing to demand that school trustees explain why they placed him on administrative paid leave nearly a month ago.

"The board has not provided any explanation," said a Harriman attorney, Julie Dubick. "The board only reiterated that the investigation involves matters related to Dr. Harriman's performance."

This week, in two closed sessions totaling about five hours, trustees met to discuss the superintendent's job performance, but board members reported no action.

"We are working very hard to get a resolution to the situation," said Del Mar Union School Board President Jeanne Waite.

Trustees placed Harriman on leave Oct. 18, a month after a school board meeting in which the superintendent angered critics who contend that the district isn't doing enough to ease overcrowding in the fourth and fifth grades.

Neither side will comment on whether the superintendent's behavior or his handling of the district's overcrowding is connected to Harriman's leave.

Dubick said the board had recently renewed Harriman's four-year contract, effective July 1997, and there was no hint of problems in previous job reviews.

"There are only complimentary, praiseworthy materials in the file," she said.

During the controversial September meeting, Del Mar Hills School Principal Gary Wilson said a parent made derogatory and demeaning comments about the district's efforts to deal with overcrowding.

"We have been called incompetent and many other different things that we highly resent and we aren't going to put up with it," Harriman said during the meeting, which was routinely tape- recorded.

"This may be the first time a school district sues a parent, or parents, as you will, for actual defamation of character and libel."

No such lawsuit has been filed, school district officials said. This week Harriman defended his actions, but said that his language was perhaps too strong.

In hindsight, "I would have brought the message across in another way," he said.

Harriman said that he does not know if that one incident prompted trustees to place him on administrative paid leave.

According to Del Mar Union enrollment numbers, as of September, the class sizes for the fourth and fifth grades at Carmel Del Mar, Del Mar Heights and Del Mar Hills schools range from an average of 26.3 to 29.33. The desired average for the 1,860-student district in fourth and fifth grades is 27.

"The class sizes are not where we would want them to be," Harriman conceded during the September meeting.

During the meeting, the superintendent for the past 13 years referred to a Sept. 4 letter that he had sent out to parents addressing class sizes.

In it, he suggested the possible creation of a combination fourth- and fifth-grade class at Del Mar Hills School, and providing additional teacher aides for the students in those grades.

Shortly after the September meeting, a half-time teacher was hired at Del Mar Hills to work with small groups of students. A teacher's aide has also been hired at Del Mar Heights.

Harriman was placed on administrative leave following a closed school-board meeting in October. Trustees then held a follow-up meeting soon after to discuss the superintendent's evaluation, according to Virginia Pearson, another Harriman attorney. During Harriman's absence, school board president Waite said, the district's three school principals and other administrators have assumed the superintendent's duties.

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Del Mar school head placed on paid leave

Anna Cearley
The San Diego Union - Tribune
Nov 1, 1997. pg. B.1

DEL MAR -- Robert Harriman, superintendent of the Del Mar Union District, has been put on administrative paid leave, while other district officials are juggling the duties of the district's top administrative job.

Trustees ordered the leave Oct. 18 following a closed school- board meeting, board president Jeanne Waite confirmed yesterday. Trustees held a follow-up meeting Tuesday to discuss the superintendent's evaluation, according to Virginia Pearson, Harriman's attorney.

Pearson said she had been asking the school board, through its attorney, for information this week and was promised a written response, which had not arrived by late yesterday.

"We are in the dark about as much as you are," said Pearson. Harriman, who has headed the district for the past 13 years, was unavailable for comment last night.

Waite, citing confidentiality for personnel matters, said she could not say what prompted the decision to place Harriman on leave.

She would not comment on how long the paid leave might last, or whether someone will be be named interim superintendent.

"It's an indefinite leave term," she said.

Waite said that board members enacted the leave and then notified the superintendent, who was not present during the vote. "We are making every effort to keep things moving along in the district," she said. "The three principals and the business manager and the woman in charge of special education have all strongly stepped up to the plate to help during this time."

In August, after 20 months of talks, the three-school, 1,600- student district reached an agreement with the city of San Diego to build an elementary school in Carmel Valley. The agreement, which Harriman was active in crafting, ended months of often heated debate between educators and city officials.

The breakthrough came in the form of a $1.8 million loan from the Del Mar school system to the city of San Diego, whose leaders said they lacked sufficient funds for the city's share of the work. Del Mar officials believe the $6.2 million elementary school can open at the start of the 1998-99 academic year. The school will be in a rapidly growing section of Carmel Valley off state Route 56.