District looks into former teacher’s complaint

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has launched an investigation of a complaint made last week by a former Newport Harbor High School special education teacher.

Sandra Sutherland, who taught at Newport Harbor from March to December last year, submitted a complaint to the state and school board alleging Newport Harbor administrators mishandled the school’s special-needs classes and turned a deaf ear to staff members’ concerns.

On Friday, Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard and Administrative Services Coordinator Laura Boss said Newport-Mesa was examining Sutherland’s claims.

“We obviously take every complaint we get seriously and we’re doing the same with this,” Boss said, adding district’s attorneys from the firm Parker and Covert were conducting the investigation. Hubbard said he didn’t know how long the study would take.

“It’s as long as the attorneys think it will be fruitful to continue it,” he said. “Sometimes investigations can blossom like a flower, and sometimes they’re straightforward.”

— Michael Miller