TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Three veteran Kern High School District maintenance and operations workers have filed claims against the district alleging they were forced out of their jobs for exposing "corrupt KHSD practices."

Two of the former employees are asking for several millions of dollars for lost wages, retirement benefits and emotional distress.

The district has rejected one claim, and is expected to reject the other two's claims in the next few weeks, which is routine for public agencies. Oftentimes the filers then bring a lawsuit against the agency.

Kern High School District officials declined to comment on the case because it's a legal matter. But reports obtained by The Californian say the district sought their dismissal for being incompetent, dishonest and falsifying information on the job.

The practices the three allege they exposed -- involving improper awarding and administration of roofing job contracts -- have been documented by a district contract coordinator. And they've led to changes in district practices.

Still, the three allege, the violations continued, they complained more, and then they were suddenly placed on leave, with supervisors falsifying disciplinary charges against them.

THE CASE

Late last year, The Californian received reports that three assistant directors in the maintenance and operations department -- John Fox, David Rich and Clem Williams -- were placed on administrative leave. The district refused to comment, saying they were personnel matters.

In April, the district board appointed three new assistant directors in a closed-door meeting. District administrators said they were filling vacant positions, but could not say why they were vacant. The Californian recently obtained claims, complaints, reports and other records showing why.

Records show the three were fired by KHSD for various reasons:

* Fox, a nearly 26-year veteran in KHSD, failed to make sure a gymnasium loaned by Vineland School District for Arvin High's use was cleaned and maintained, damaging KHSD's reputation with Vineland. For five months, he ignored a gopher infestation at Ridgeview High. And he did not properly create an operations manual he was assigned to make.

* Rich, a 25-year veteran, was late to biweekly administrative meetings every time for a 10-month period, attended only 20 percent of other required meetings, never visited several campuses he was required to visit at least twice a month, failed to install street lights that will result in fines and penalties from the city of Bakersfield, and did not install boxes with master keys for emergency responders as assigned. His replacement installed those boxes in two weeks.

He also approved and expedited a $2,100 work order for his wife, a KHSD office manager, when he was not authorized to do so.

* Williams, a nearly 32-year veteran, did not ensure fields at his campuses were renovated in time for the start of school, received complaints about not mowing fields, did not meet project deadlines that resulted in a $23,500 loss for KHSD in one instance and did not create an operations manual he was tasked to do. He also intervened in an employee discipline action that prompted intervention from union representatives.

The three former employees, however, paint a different picture of why they fired.

THE CLAIM

The three in their claims said for years they received only favorable employee evaluations -- until 2009, when a new director started. That's when, they claim, supervisors began giving poor evaluations that were "false, fabricated and without basis, and in fact, were pretext to terminating ... employment."

The district was trying to get rid of the three because of their repeated attempts to expose what they called "corrupt practices," they said.

In October, the three were placed on administrative leave, and officers escorted them off district grounds, they said. They have also filed discrimination complaints with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

"The charges are trumped up," said Stephen Wainer, attorney for Williams and Fox. "They don't rise to the level of fireable offenses."

Fox and Williams, in interviews, said they are concerned about their reputation, and also about loss of income and retirement benefits. Fox officially retired Wednesday; Williams June 1; and Rich will be officially retired June 30. In their retirement notifications, Williams and Fox each wrote:

"I have been forced to now retire by the actions of the Kern High School (District). (It's) not easy for me and is an injustice, and has caused me further emotional distress in doing so."

Fox is asking for $4 million for loss of wages and benefits, and emotional distress. Williams is asking for $3 million for the same reasons. Rich, who has a different attorney than the other two, did not give a dollar figure.

THE REPORT

At least some of the wrongdoings the three former employees claim to have exposed have already been addressed internally by KHSD, and have led it to voluntarily change policies.

In 2008, a contract coordinator at KHSD, John Cronen, wrote a "review of maintenance and operations' roofing contracts" from 2004 to 2008. He noted:

* During the four-year period, Garland Company was the sole company with which KHSD purchased roofing material directly, for a total of $341,000, reports show.

* Out of 178 roofing jobs in the time period, 87 percent were given to Commercial Roofing Systems Inc., reports show. In only one of the jobs was another company other than Commercial notified.

"We have a good relationship with Kern High because we do good work," said Commercial president and CEO Glenn Hiller, who disputes the numbers. He said two other companies historically receive more jobs than they do with KHSD.

* In neither of the roofing jobs did contractors or maintenance personnel check for asbestos.

* Jobs were split and bundled together to stay under a $30,000 limit, which is against policies. When the limit was reached, jobs were split and a new contract and purchase order was created. Contracts valued at more than $30,000 must be put out to bid.

* The scope of repairs needed for each project were left to only Sean Gavin, regional manager with Garland. Additionally, roof work using Garland material was "not adequate." Regional Occupation Center in mid-2000 had leaks, and rooms could not be used.

In his report, Cronen urged management to change the way the department handled purchasing of roofing materials and awarded jobs.

"A correction may save a 'black eye' for the District and Business Services," he wrote.

In an interview with The Californian, Cronen said there appeared to be close ties between roofing officials and district officials, but his report did not focus on the relationships. He said he never had dealings with Fox, Williams or Rich as it related to the report.

Cronen said he was also aware at the time of "turmoil" within the district regarding a new supervisor and employees. KHSD said it could not speak to ties between the company and district officials because the district administrator in charge at the time, Larry Patrick, has since passed away. But a district investigation found nothing Illegal happening, KHSD spokesman John Teves said, and company officials say the same.

Cronen's concerns were also later reviewed by Schools Legal Service, which found no legal violations related to the bidding process.

Gavin said his company was chosen by KHSD for roofing material because of the "long-term life-cycle value" of the products. KHSD has not purchased Garland materials in 2 1/2 years, Teves said, because in 2009 it moved to a "competitive bidding process" where yearly contracts were granted.

"It's a matter of whether you can get by on a Volkswagen or Mercedes," Teves said, calling Garland a "high-end product."

Hiller, with Commercial, denies any wrongdoing and "never had so much a lunch with anyone there."

"There are no kickbacks involved," said Hiller, who has done work in Bakersfield schools for 22 years. "That would be foolish to ruin our reputation in our work with school districts."

Still, district officials said that since the report was released, KHSD has changed its policies. Now all roofing contract jobs are put out to bid, and at least three quotes are sought. New laws have forced other school districts to change their ways, too.

After Assembly Bill 635 was introduced to address abuses in public roofing projects, several groups spoke out against the initial bill -- including school districts and Garland -- because they said it would have increased the time and cost of projects. It was defeated, but an amended bill was made into law last year.

The law requires roofing companies to guarantee they're following laws and codes and to certify their financial relationships with all parties involved in projects.

Mary Beth Coburn -- a San Diego-based attorney with expertise in roofing contracts and who represents agencies statewide including school districts and Garland -- said the law reinforces existing law and long-standing precedents.

"If you have your hand in the till, you're going to get slapped," Coburn said of the bill. "If you're doing something criminal, there are laws to take care of that."

THE REASON

The three former employees said the practices continued after the report was released, and they continued to complain. The three were placed on leave in retaliation after they submitted a report to the FBI because they considered the practices "criminal," they claim. KHSD officials said they have never heard of an FBI report, nor have heard directly from the FBI. FBI officials said they could neither confirm nor deny an investigation into KHSD contracts.

The three former workers have gone public, they said, to make sure KHSD is complying with laws and to make sure taxpayer dollars aren't being wrongfully spent.

Teves said efforts to reach settlement agreements with the three failed. KHSD stopped paying Fox in May; Williams in June; and Rich continued being paid until he retired, Teves said.

"We reserve the right to maintain the highest quality staff and to remove those who fail to meet our performance expectations."