At the center of one set of accusations is Brad Wright, the President of El Camino's Governing Board. A petition seeking his removal states that he:
"consistently acts in the role of an ECR employee and has repeatedly sat in on teachers' classes, attended various departmental meetings, and is known for issuing directives to employees and ECR's executive administration even though he neither holds a superior position nor is he an employee of ECR."
Court documents allege Wright has "inserted himself into the athletic program" and personally selected coaches for the basketball program. In a sworn deposition, Dhillon states that Wright had the school's "technology department set up access to the school security cameras and microphones so he could observe from his home."
Wright is currently being sued along with the organization that holds the charter and other staff members. In this suit, Billy Ramirez, a former teacher at the school, alleges that he was a victim of defamation, emotional distress, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination. The details alleged in the filing paint a picture of a publicly funded school where leadership is allowed to operate freely without any semblance of accountability.
As the coach of the girls' golf and soccer teams, it would be expected that Ramirez would have regular contact with female students. The fact that he was hired by some parents to provide private lessons away from school would increase the likelihood of these interactions. However, it is alleged that Wright saw them as an opportunity to get rid of a teacher who had fallen out of favor with him.
Dhillon alleges that Wright instructed him to write a letter to him alleging that Ramirez was engaged in inappropriate relationships with female students. He states in his sworn deposition that the purpose of this email was to get Ramirez suspended. Dhillon also stated that he did not necessarily believe the allegation and only followed the instructions because he feared for his job.
Included with the email was a series of pictures of girls from around the campus that were said to implicate Ramirez in wrongdoing. According to the filing, nothing in these pictures indicated bad behavior and some of them did not even include Ramirez.
The pictures were allegedly taken by Mr. Vazquez, who El Camino also employees. There was no explanation as to why Vazquez was taking pictures of female students on campus.
El Camino 'Executive Director' David Hussey
(Image by El Camino Real Charter High School) Details DMCA
With the email in hand, Wright allegedly approached David Hussey, the "Executive Director" who succeeded Fehte and demanded an investigation. As a mandated reporter, Hussey should have notified the authorities if he felt his students had been put in danger. Instead, he agreed to suspend Ramirez and have an investigation conducted. The school hired TNG/Oracle, the same firm that conducted the forensic audit of Fehte's spending that has been hidden by the public, to investigate Ramirez.
In an outcome alleged to have been preordained, TNG/Oracle's report provided the information needed to fire Ramirez. Even with this alleged evidence of wrongdoing, Hussey did not fulfill the requirements of a mandated reporter.
There are no good possible outcomes for El Camino in this court case. At best, a jury will decide that the school had cause to fire Ramirez, but it will then have to explain why the Department of Children and Family services were never contacted. If they find in favor of the plaintiff, it will be because the charter school operates in a way that permits gross abuses of power.
No matter what the outcome, funding meant for education will be diverted from El Camino's budget, impacting the entire student body. The legal defense will cost the school money, adding to the reported legal fees in excess of the $373k the school has reportedly spent since 2020. The school also faces financial risk if the plaintiff wins and is awarded damages. If the school wins the case, it may face future lawsuits from alleged victims who were put at risk when Wright and Hussey failed to report their allegations to the authorities.
These are the risks of allowing a charter school system to operate without meaningful oversight. The LAUSD needs to do better.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, and serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
ï ? ? žï ? ? ï ? ? žï ? ? (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Post Article Comment and Rate This Article
