Suspended School Chief to Resume Job

The superintendent of the Santa Paula Elementary School District, suspended for five days after he was accused of assaulting a junior high student, will be allowed to return to work today, district trustees said Thursday.

But after discussing an investigative report on the case for 2 1/2 hours, the trustees said they will not make any final determination until they give Supt. David Philips an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations.

“Before a conclusion can be reached on this matter, we have to meet with the superintendent,” said board President Janet Grant. She said the board will meet with him today and declined further comment.

In addition to any possible action from the board of trustees, Philips also faces a separate criminal complaint filed by a school counselor on behalf of the student involved in the May 27 incident at Isbell Middle School.

Santa Paula Police Chief Walter Adair said the department is investigating the complaint. He said the department will decide by next week whether it merits forwarding to the district attorney for possible criminal charges.

The complaints against Philips are part of the continuing turmoil the Santa Paula middle school over an increase in campus violence and a debate over the proper role for teachers and others in carrying out disciplinary action.

Members of the teachers union have accused school administrators of ignoring reports of rising campus violence and retaliating against teachers who have spoken out on the issue.

Grant said administrators believe the criminal complaint was filed in retaliation against Philips for an earlier decision to suspend and reassign two teachers for excessive reaction to student misbehavior.

The tension between teachers and administrators resurfaced last week when teachers presented the trustees with a letter of no confidence in school Principal Arvid Brommers. The letter was signed by 28 of the school’s 30 teachers.

Meeting in a special closed session Thursday night, the trustees reviewed the report of an Oxnard law firm investigator who had been hired to furnish an impartial account of the May 27 incident.

After the board emerged to announce its initial decision, teachers’ union President Mike Weiner said it was unfair to allow him to return to his old job. “I don’t look at it as equitable treatment,” Weiner said. “I don’t see how they are going to justify it after reassigning two teachers to other duties.”

According to the criminal complaint by the school counselor, Philips pulled the student off his feet when he yanked open a classroom door that the student was holding. The unnamed youth later told The Times that Philips slammed him against a wall, held him in the air and yelled at him.

Philips has denied touching the student except to break his fall when the student tumbled from the doorway.