Trustees zero in on resolution of conflict

After releasing details of the friction between Modesto City Schools' top two administrators, trustees soon will consider how to end the conflict.

That could mean negotiating a settlement with Deputy Superintendent Debbe Bailey, who has been on paid leave since April 27. She makes $165,000 a year; her contract extends through June 2010.

Or it could mean trying to fire Bailey for cause, in which case the district would not be liable for the remainder of her contract. Termination could spark a legal battle.

After Bailey's suspension, officials discovered inflammatory e-mails questioning Superintendent Arturo Flores' actions and voicing concerns about the district's financial well-being. Many of the e-mails were between Bailey and Pat Nan, Flores' secretary, as well as to the Modesto Teachers Association of- ficials and school board Trustee Cindy Marks. The cor-respondence was part of 130 pages of e-mails and memos released two weeks ago to The Bee in response to a public records request.

Flores accuses Bailey of "unprofessional" behavior and "questionable judgment" for having e-mailed in- ternal information to the teachers union. Bailey maintains that selected e-mails are being released to show only one side, and that most of her e-mail comments are being misinterpreted.

A decision on Bailey's status is unlikely to come at Monday's Board of Trustees meeting, but at a special meeting. During a time of increasing financial stress on the district, one legal expert says trustees should be looking for the cheapest route.

"The question for the taxpayers and the teachers is: How much time gets taken away from accomplishing the district's mission statement?" said Jessica Christensen, an employment attorney based in Alameda and an editor of the California Employer Advisor.

While Bailey's actions are deemed by many as unprofessional and insubordinate, trustees will have to decide whether what she did undermined Flores' relationship with trustees and district employees. Bailey counters that Flores had eroded her authority.

Such tension is not rare. "It's the most common scenario for employment disputes," Christensen said, adding that conflicts usually flare about 18 months to two years after a new executive takes over.

Bailey's e-mails started soon after Flores was hired two years ago. Flores succeeded James Enochs, who had been superintendent for 21 years. The average tenure of a superintendent in California is less than five years.

Expert: Carrot better than stick

When a new leader is hired and follows a longtime superintendent, he or she has to find a way to "impose change and assert their leadership without marginalizing the authority of longtime employees," Christensen said. "The carrot is much better than the stick."

After reviewing the Bailey case, Christensen said her biggest concern would be Bailey's e-mails to Modesto Teachers Association officials in which Bailey was giving the union information it could use against the district.

In an e-mail Jan. 13, an MTA official asked Bailey if she had anything to add to a regularly scheduled meeting agenda between union leaders and district officials. Bailey responded, directing the union to ask about the cost of a consultant for strategic plan support.

"That's a $40,000 contract and I have yet to figure out for what," Bailey wrote.

"Sharing strategies, whether general or specific, on either side is a pretty serious offense," Christensen said.

Bailey's contract states she can be terminated for a "material breach" of the agreement.