A new principal has been selected by South San Francisco Unified School District officials for El Camino High School, taking the reins of a campus that has been plagued in recent months by turmoil and staff turnover — including that of two-year principal David Putney.
Daniel Lunt will assume control of the school July 1, the same date that Putney is slated to be reassigned to another, yet to be identified, position within the district, according to Superintendent of Human Resources Jacqueline McEvoy, through district spokesman Ryan Sebers.
Putney was removed from his role as principal last October and placed on paid administrative leave, following an investigation into his handling of alleged racial bullying of a student at the school.
The former principal said he feels professionally disrespected, in light of district officials refusing to reinstate him as principal, even after the report from investigators cleared him of any wrongdoing.
“They hired me to do my job, and then they put me on leave,” he said.
The last correspondence he received from the district was months ago, informing him that he would be assigned to another job, with no further justification.
“It’s like suspending a kid and not telling them why,” he said.
In the weeks immediately after being reassigned, Putney said he was directed to serve as a special principal at Baden Adult School, where he would report to an empty classroom, with no staff or students, to work on developing an athletic handbook.
But since December, Putney said he has been at home, receiving full compensation, on paid administrative leave.
Linda McDaniel was hired to serve as interim principal at El Camino High School after Putney’s reassignment, but she resigned in February due to an investigation into alleged fiscal malfeasance.
A team of district administrators bridged the gap between McDaniel’s resignation and selecting Lunt to lead the school. Lunt comes to the district after working as a principal in the Anaheim Union High School District and King City Joint Union High School District. He has also served as an Assistant Superintendent Educational Services in the Bassett Unified School District.
Board Trustee member Maurice Goodman said Putney, a former teacher, can expect to go back to the classroom when the district makes a final decision regarding his future employment status.
Working as a teacher would be a significant reduction of his responsibility, professional growth and salary, said Putney.
“I don’t even know what my job is going to be next year, I can’t start planning and preparing,” he said.
Putney was placed on administrative leave not because of his handling of the racial bullying incident, but with the environment of the school he resided over, said Goodman.
“The concerns around Dr. Putney had more to do with school culture, management style and other allegations, than it did with his handling of the racial incident,” said Goodman. “That’s directly after having meetings with numerous teachers, and classified staff personally.”
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Putney said he was unaware of any professional complaints levied against him by workers at El Camino High School, and was never afforded a chance to defend himself to district officials prior to being reprimanded.
“It’s surprising, if there were issues, if there were complaints, then the district I think could have communicated that to me and we could have worked on it,” he said.
When the culture of El Camino High School was being discussed with officials, some colleagues may have been hesitant to speak in Putney’s favor, for fear of professional retribution, he said.
Annual administrative reviews of his work performance indicate he served the district well as principal, prior to being placed on leave, said Putney.
Superintendent Alejandro Hogan, who performed those administrative reviews, left the district last month after announcing his resignation in March.
Board President Judy Bush said she felt Putney has been treated fairly by officials, in the process leading up to him being disciplined.
“We’ve followed all the practices within the district,” she said.
When Putney was placed on leave, Bush released a statement saying he acted according to district protocol in handling the bullying issue, but there was still room for betterment in the school’s culture.
“The district is committed to continuous improvement, and in the course of investigating this matter, this board and superintendent identified opportunities to improve the tone, environment and communication at the school, for the benefit of the district’s students, parents and staff,” according to the statement.
Goodman, who has a child who is a student at the school, said the board made a collaborative decision to place Putney on leave, and that the school has excelled in his absence.
“There is a misconception that any one board member can do anything without the support of the other board members,” he said. “The rest of the board did play a part in the action, with regards to El Camino High School and Dr. Putney.”
Putney though said he remains in the dark, with no clear vision of what the district expects from him going forward.
“It’s hard to make future plans when I have no idea what they are doing,” he said.
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