ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

Citation: Patten v. Grant Joint Union High School District, 134 Cal. App. 4th 1378; 37
Cal. Rptr. 3d 113, (2005 Cal. App.).
Key Facts: Colleen Patten served as principal of Foothill Farms Junior High School
during the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years. Foothill Farms was an underperforming
school with around 1,000 students. Following the 2001-2002 school year, Patten was reassigned
to a magnet school with around 250 students and high academic standards. Patten brought suit
against Grant Joint Union High School District (Grant) alleging that she had suffered an adverse
employment action (reassignment) due to retaliation for her whistle-blowing.
Patten presented three incidents/issues to her superiors that she felt were used as
retaliation against her. First, she reported a male physical education teacher spying on girls while
they changed in the locker rooms. Second, she reported inappropriate remarks by a male science
teacher made toward a female student. Third, she reported that Foothills required more security
and administrators due to its spread out campus. Fourth, and most important, she reported that
Grant officials had encouraged Patten to endorse blank fund reassignment forms so that a
$127,000 surplus discovered during annual auditing could be used by the district rather than
returned to the state. Patten reported that she was not comfortable doing this. The district carried
out the process without Patten’s endorsement. Patten then reported all four incidents/issues to a
state senator. The trial court granted summary judgment to Grant but did identify the fund
reassignment scam as being illegal. However, the trial court did not deem Patten’s reassignment
to have been retaliatory or adverse due to the maintenance of title, compensation, and
responsibilities. Patten appealed.
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