California superintendent fired for allegedly threatening students who didn’t applaud her daughter

A California superintendent was closed from the school district on Tuesday through a school board vote following an investigation into his conduct.

In November, students on the Del Norte High School softball team alleged that Poway Unified School District Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps threatened their graduation privileges because of a slight toward her daughter, who was on the team.

They addressed the school board during a meeting claiming that Phelps believed the group had not applauded loud enough for his daughter. NBC San Diego reported at the time.

After a softball awards banquet last May, students say Phelps called and texted some of them that night, accusing them of not applauding his daughter at the ceremony, NBC San Diego reported. Phelps then allegedly threatened to revoke their graduation privileges if they didn’t apologize to his daughter, the students said.

Coach Tom Peronto said during a school board meeting last year that he alerted the board to Phelps’ “abuse of power” and as a result his livelihood was threatened.

“As I exposed these abuses and emails to board members, she then falsely accused me of verbally attacking a board member in the district parking lot, using this as justification to fire me from my position as softball coach at Del Norte,” Peronto said.

School board president Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff said the board voted to terminate Phelps’ contract during a closed session on Tuesday, following an investigation that began on November 15 and concluded on April 18. The investigation analyzed statements from 41 witnesses and many documents, which contradicted Phelps’ accounts.

“Based on her conduct, as revealed to the Board through the investigation, the Board has lost all confidence in Dr. Phelps’ ability to continue to serve as Superintendent, as well as in her ability to continue to work collaboratively with the Board as part of Poway Unified’s governance team,” O’Connor-Ratcliff said.

No additional details were provided in the O’Connor-Ratcliff statementciting laws regarding student and employee privacy.

Phelps did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from NBC News on Wednesday and a phone number listed for her in public records has been disconnected. NBC San Diego previously reported that Phelps denied the allegations against her.

A lawsuit was also filed in San Diego County regarding the matter in November, identifying the student only as Jane Doe. The lawsuit alleges that Phelps “constructed a narrative falsely suggesting” that the student bullied her daughter and orchestrated an internal investigation biased against the girl.

The suit also alleged that Phelps “unilaterally” perceived an “intense rivalry” between his daughter and other student athletes on the softball team.

As a result, the girl was barred from extracurricular activities her senior year, which included playing on the softball team, as well as dances, field trips, student clubs, activities and graduation, the lawsuit said. Phelps allegedly gave the student and her parents less than a day to sign an “Other Means of Correction Agreement” agreeing to the discipline.

The girl’s family asked an attorney to raise concerns about the matter, but Phelps allegedly doubled down, so the girl challenged Phelps’ investigation to the PUSD Board of Education with more than 20 witness statements refuting Phelps’ claims, it said. the process.

Phelps denied the allegations in a statement to NBC San Diego, saying he “never threatened any student.”

“I would never do that. I’ve never talked to any student about making threats about them not graduating,” Phelps said. “All of these accusations are completely false and fabricated.”

This article was originally published in NBCNews. with