Apodaca: Time to speak up about allegations in district

Parents of Newport-Mesa Unified students might understandably be suffering from scandal fatigue. Allegations of improper behavior have arisen with such depressing regularity in the district over the years that it’s hard not to be jaded. I know I am.

But don’t surrender your outrage just yet. A whistleblower’s recent accusations of wrongdoing, if true, could make all those other scandals seem as if they were merely symptoms alerting us to the presence of a deeper disease.

In short, we need to know if there’s something rotten at the core of our public school system.

The latest revelations come to us from Newport-Mesa’s former director of human resources John Caldecott, who was fired in January after months of trying to get to the bottom of some salary and pension discrepancies he had detected, he said. He has recently been coming forward to explain some details of his concerns, and they are disturbing.

Among the allegations: An as-yet-unnamed administrator was paid for about a month’s worth of extra work that appears to have never been performed; salary reports to the state retirement system may have been changed to improperly inflate pensions, and Supt. Fred Navarro and other officials engaged in a pattern of ignoring and/or covering up these abuses and attempting to block efforts by Caldecott to make all pertinent records public.

Caldecott recently met me for lunch to discuss his quest to win a court order for the release of those records.

A 10-year Newport-Mesa contract employee, Caldecott has worked at school districts throughout the state over a long career in the arcane field of human resources. His is the type of work that typically elicit yawns from most people, but he professes to love the attention to detail and problem-solving skills it requires. He said his alarm bells rang when he noticed problems with the coding related to pension reporting, and for months his attempts to address these and other issues were thwarted by the administration.

Caldecott then requested a forensic audit by the state teachers retirement system, and asked the Orange County Superior Court to order the release of related documents. Shortly after, he was fired.

“It’s shocking to me to realize what I’m telling people,” he said. “I believe the public should know what goes on behind the scenes at Newport-Mesa.”

He paints a picture of an administration mired in secrecy and ethical lapses, a superintendent who expects unquestioning obedience, and a too-cozy school board that rubber stamps whatever Navarro wants.

District officials — no big surprise here — are remaining tight-lipped about Caldecott’s allegations. Navarro responded to me in an email that he couldn’t comment due to the current litigation with the former HR chief. School board president Martha Fluor replied, “Your inquiries to the board pertains to a personnel matter and I am not at liberty discuss with you.”

The only district official who answered any questions was Deputy Supt. and Chief Business Official Paul Reed, who responded to my queries about Caldecott’s concerns regarding Newport-Mesa’s spending levels and its continuing depletion of reserve funds. Before he was terminated, Caldecott said, he was asked to draw up a “seniority list” of district personnel, which is often a precursor to layoffs.

Reed said that the district has had to tap reserves as it continues to recover from the recession, and to retool for the new Common Core educational standards, but that spending will be tempered going forward and the overall financial condition remains solid. The legal deadline has already passed for layoff notices that could have affected staffing levels for the next school year, he said.

But that’s cold comfort right now, considering the possibility that something is fundamentally amiss at the district.

Keep in mind that Caldecott is no wild-eyed conspiracist, nor does he come across as a vengeful, disgruntled ex-employee. He’s a paper-pushing HR wonk, a silver-haired grandfather with decades of experience managing delicate employee matters, and he has — at least so far — not sued for wrongful termination. All of his actions to date have been geared toward forcing the district to disclose all documents related to the issues he finds so troubling.

We need to add our voices to his. The school board must be reminded that they work for us — the voters, taxpayers and parents of Newport-Mesa — and that we expect complete transparency and full accountability. You are our watchdog, not the administration’s lapdog.

We must demand the board authorize a thorough and independent investigation of Caldecott’s allegations. No more silence. No stonewalling. Thank him for bringing these matters to your attention, and get to work doing the job you were elected to do: Ask tough questions, insist on full and detailed answers, and present any findings in the full light of day.

It should go without saying, but we need to know that the board and administration are adhering to the one principle that should guide every decision they make: Do what’s best for the students. Right now, I’m not convinced that’s happening.

Yes, we’re all a bit weary of scandal at Newport-Mesa, but this is no time for complacency. It’s time to get loud. If we all shout together, maybe we’ll be heard.

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.