Suit claims that superintendent, several school board members made false charges against Behrens, and that he has been made a ‘scapegoat’
By Joshua Molina, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @JECMolina | May 22, 2018 | 8:58 p.m.
Ousted San Marcos High School principal Ed Behrens has filed a lawsuit against the Santa Barbara Unified School District, alleging a violation of his constitutional rights, and unlawful retaliation.
“This case is about the malicious and retaliatory demotion of a respected and successful high school principal,” according to the lawsuit, filed by the law firm of Cappello and Noel.
The lawsuit states that Behrens served at the district for 27 years, more than 20 at San Marcos. He became principal in 2011.
“The district school board members, each of whom attained their seat by default without a receiving a single vote, and district Superintendent Cary Matsuoka, who was appointed by the school board only 20 months prior to the events described herein, ignored community support for Behrens, and unlawfully removed him from his position in an obvious attempt to make Behrens the scapegoat for district missteps in the wake of a publicized online threat incident, and to forward a larger, harmful agenda.”
The situation stems from a Jan. 19, 2018, incident for which “SMHS administrators were made aware of a possible threat made toward a small number of female students in the district by a small group of students in a private online chat room.”
Following an investigation, authorities determined that no credible threat of physical harm existed.
Then, on Jan. 23, 2018, several San Marcos High School parents contacted Behrens privately and threatened to release to local news media a video created by one of the chat-room students. The video depicted that student with an antique musket describing violent acts towards other district students, according to the lawsuit.
The parents claimed they would not release the video if Behrens sent a ParentSquare message identifying the students involved in the online chat and video, and disclosing the consequences imposed on those students. Behrens did not disclose the names.
Releasing student identities in this manner is a violation of privacy restrictions under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
On Feb. 7, according to the lawsuit, Behrens received a highly critical letter of reprimand blaming him for “exacerbating” the threat situation.
The letter states that “appropriate safety protocol was executed in conjunction with law enforcement,” but unfairly admonishes Behrens for failing to properly communicate details of the incident to the community,” the lawsuit states.
A lawsuit filed by ousted San Marcos High School principal Ed Behrens claims that Cary Matsuoka, superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, made false claims against him. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo)
The letters blames Behrens for the release of the threat video, stating that “details of the disturbing incident went viral in a way that was beyond the control of district staff,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges that Behrens was not notified of all derogatory charges against him, and the district did not “afford him a meaningful opportunity to respond.”
“In failing to consider or to place in the personnel file Behrens’ response to a derogatory letter of reprimand, and in basing the demotion on reasons and materials not disclosed to Behrens, and in supplying a false statement of reasons, Respondent grossly violated these rights,” the lawsuit alleges. “These violations unlawfully prejudiced Behrens in his attempt to defend his position and should result in reinstatement.”
The suit claims that Matsuoka and several school board members made false charges against Behrens, and that “Behrens has been made the scapegoat for community anger in response to a student threat incident, and his reputation has been severely harmed as a result.”
Behrens has been reassigned as a junior high school social studies teacher, with a $50,000 annual pay cut.
The suit also calls out Matsuoka and his management style:
“Matsuoka has said that his leadership philosophy is ‘to give principals and teachers the autonomy to determine what would work best for their schools’ rather than mandating change from the top, however, in the mere 20 months since his appointment, Matsuoka has made sweeping changes to district administration staff.”
To support that contention, the lawsuit asserts that since the 2017-18 school year began, several employees exited, including Barbara Keyani, district public information officer, unexpectedly retired; Helen Rodriguez, assistant superintendent of special Education suddenly resigned; Jackie Mora, director of the EL Program, unexpectedly resigned mid-year; Dave Hetyonk, director of facilities and operations, announced his retirement this year; Donna Ronzoni, VAPA Coordinator, unexpectedly announced retirement; Alicia Saballa, principal of Santa Barbara Community Academy, retired mid-year, and Mitch Torina, assistant superintendent of Human Resources, unexpectedly retired this year.
Shawn Carey, principal of Dos Pueblos High School, was reassigned to assistant superintendent of secondary education in December 2016, and John Becchio, principal of Santa Barbara High School, was reassigned to the district human resources department effective July 1, 2018, the lawsuit notes.
The lawsuit also claims that the board did little to challenge Matsuoka
The lawsuit includes a photo claiming to show Matsuoka flipping a middle-finger, pointed down, toward a supporter of San Marcos High School principal Ed Behrens during a school board meeting in front of more than 300 people. Matsuoka claims the photo is a fake. (Contributed photo)
“The board regularly approved Matsuoka’s personnel recommendations submitted via extensive, compiled spreadsheets with little debate,” the lawsuit states.
Lauren Bianchi Kleman, spokeswoman for the SBUSD, said district officials could not respond due to the active litigation.
The lawsuit also includes a photo that claims to show Matsuoka flipping a middle-finger, pointed down, during a school board meeting in front of more than 300 people.
“During the March 13, 2018, board meeting, in front of over 300 SMHS parents and community members, Matsuoka displayed open hostility and malice toward Behrens’ supporters. Matsuoka was photographed making a profane and lengthy gesture towards one of Behrens’ most adamant supporters while that supporter was addressing Matsuoka and the board,” the lawsuit states. “Though Matsuoka has falsely stated the picture was doctored, Behrens is informed and believes that the photograph is unedited.”
“The above photograph provides evidence of the bias, contempt, ill-will and malice exhibited by Matsuoka towards Behrens and those community members who were properly expressing concerns over matters of grave importance to their children’s education and futures,” the lawsuit states.
The School Board met Tuesday night and voted 4-1 to appoint Richard Rundhaug, of Arizona, as interim principal for San Marcos High School. The search for a permanent principal will start in February 2019, according to the district.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
For a copy of the complaint, go to: Edward Behrens vs. Santa Barbara Unified School District, et. al, Case No. 18CV02536, May 21, 2018, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara
Other coverage:
KEYT-TV, May 23, 2018
