In an ideal world, sexually harassing another in the workplace would get you fired.
But when it happens in San Diego County public schools, sometimes those employees are simply transferred to another job or school site.
Voice’s Ashly McGlone has been sifting through school records from across the county for the past year and in a new piece she provides several examples in which schools determined an employee harassed a student or coworker and transferred that person to a different role or school. The Vista, Sweetwater, Grossmont, Ramona, Escondido and San Dieguito school districts all dealt with misbehaving employees this way. Often, parents, students and staff at the new schools are unaware of the employee’s alleged misbehavior.
Victim advocates call this practice “passing the trash” and it can sometimes lead to civil liability, costing schools money.
In their defense, officials often cite the due process rights of the accused, or a desire to avoid protracted litigation that could follow a firing.
- We’re not alone in our effort to obtain documents detailing public school employees’ misconduct and to understand how these cases are handled. This weekend, the San Luis Obispo Tribune detailed how it’s suing to get records from the Lucia Mar Unified School District that would shed light on the case of a wrestling coach accused of sexually abusing players.
Politics Roundup
- Scott Lewis, Sara Libby and Andrew Keatts kicked off a series of podcasts on the most interesting races in the November election. First up is San Diego City Council District 4, where Monica Montgomery’s grassroots campaign is gaining steam. Her top showing in the June primary, over City Council President Myrtle Cole, shocked politicos.
- Mayor Kevin Faulconer endorsed fellow Republican and Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox for governor. It wasn’t news if you listen to the VOSD podcast: Faulconer told us back in early August that he supports Cox’s bid. (Union-Tribune)
- City Councilwoman Barbara Bry said San Diego’s hands-off approach to dockless scooter companies “naive.” San Francisco and Los Angeles are rolling out strict rules. (Union-Tribune)
- A year after his predecessor departed in scandal, the San Diego Association of Governments has a hired a new director. His $414,000 annual salary nearly blew up his confirmation Friday.
- Politifest is back! We’ve got lots of great panels, interviews and debates — about the future of California and its cities, rent control and more. Check out the initial list of speakers.
In Other News
- California envisions passenger rail travel increasing “more than tenfold” by 2040. In the Sacramento Report, Libby highlights some of the goals for improving the safety and efficiency of those trains in San Diego.
- The U-T reports that Patrick Walders, an SDSU choral director, dropped a lawsuit against one of two students whom he accused of defamation. He’s been on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into an alleged sexual relationship with one of his female students. Earlier this year, former coworkers and students came forward to tell Voice’s Kinsee Morlan about what they viewed as the inappropriate and sometimes disturbing ways that Walders wielded his influence.
- The San Diego City Council will vote Monday on a new plan that would radically change the vision for the Midway district, which is home to big box retailers, large industrial lots, traffic congestion and strip clubs. (KPBS)
- Nearly one in four residents in San Diego County is foreign-born, according to Census estimates. The U-T takes a closer look at who those folks are, what hurdles they’ve faced and what they’ve accomplished.
- Less than nine months after the new downtown San Diego courthouse opened, the windows in 22 judges’ chambers are cracking and need to be replaced. One judge called for an outside review of what went wrong. (Union-Tribune)
Correction
In last week’s Culture Report, we mischaracterized Vanguard Culture’s relationship with the IDEA1 building’s developers. The developers invited the nonprofit to host events there, but the nonprofit isn’t being paid to do so.
The Morning Report was written by Jesse Marx, and edited by Sara Libby.