CONTROVERSY SWIRLS IN DISTRICT WEB PORN, CONSPIRACY ALLEGED; PANEL TO DECIDE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Controversy has again struck the Palmdale School District in the form of charges and counter-charges involving the superintendent, a former superintendent and the secretary who served them both.

Maria ``Becky'' Velazquez-McIntyre, executive assistant to Superintendent Jack Gyves, was fired by the board for insubordination and disloyalty, but has accused Gyves of having pornography on his office computer.

Gyves, who denies the pornography charge, said Velazquez-McIntyre conspired with former superintendent Nancy Smith to ensure that a trust on whose board Smith sits as a district representative continues to be the district's employee health benefits provider.

The matter came to a head at the board's Jan. 17 meeting when Velazquez-McIntyre, a 10-year district employee, took the unusual step of asking that the 22-page document listing the charges against her be read in public.

After that, six people spoke in support of her, including Smith and former trustee Larry Logsdon.

Smith, who retired as superintendent after suffering a stroke in May 2003, called the charges against herself and Velazquez-McIntyre libelous, ridiculous and false and denied conspiring with her.

Smith also accused Gyves of making unflattering comments about teachers, including, ``Teachers are like a stupid mule and you have to hit them in the head with a board to get their attention,'' according to a copy of her statement provided by the district.

Velazquez-McIntyre said Gyves twice had her open a sexually explicit e-mail attachment on his office computer.

Velazquez-McIntyre was placed on paid leave June 30.

The board voted in closed session to dismiss Velazquez-McIntyre, and she now has a right to appeal that decision to the district's personnel commission, said her attorney, Lawrence Trygstad. A commission hearing date has not been set.

``We believe the charges are false charges. We have requested a hearing before the personnel commission, where we will contest the charges,'' Trygstad said. ``We fully expect to be vindicated.''

Gyves, who was hired as the district's interim superintendent in October 2003 and became the permanent top administrator the following year, was as equally adamant that the district will prevail.

``Curious, isn't it, that (Velazquez-McIntyre's charges) didn't arise until after the dismissal proceedings were started?'' Gyves said. ``I'm anxiously awaiting my day in court. If you read the (district's) charges, then you know that Becky McIntyre and Nancy Smith don't have a nodding acquaintance with the truth.''

Trygstad said the incidents regarding the sexually explicit e-mail attachment occurred in fall 2004 and created a ``hostile work environment.''

``Dr. Gyves called her into his office on two occasions and had her open an attachment on his computer and there was pornographic photographs,'' Trygstad said.

Velazquez-McIntyre said she told former board member Tom Lackey about it at the time it happened, Trygstad said. Lackey, now a Palmdale city councilman, said he can't comment; school officials said a law firm and an independent investigator are looking into the allegation.

Gyves denied the e-mail incident ever happened.

``I think she has an ability to take innocuous comments and events and make them seem unseemly,'' Gyves said. ``I patently deny that.''

Gyves also said he did not disparage teachers to Smith. ``Ms. Smith distorted confidential conversations that we have had,'' Gyves said. ``I don't use that kind of language and never have.''

Smith works for the district by sitting as a board member of the Central Valley Trust, which was formed in 1984 to pool the resources of smaller school districts to acquire health care benefits similar to those available to larger districts. She provides the district monthly reports about the trust.

The district alleges that Velazquez-McIntyre undermined administrators by making derogatory remarks, such as that Gyves didn't know what he was doing and sometimes played solitaire in his office. The district also charged that she ``secretly conspired with Ms. Smith to further (Smith's) and (her) own goals concerning the district's employee health care benefits....''

At a time when the district considered switching health care providers from Central Valley Trust to another provider for certain employees, Velazquez-McIntyre ``actively worked - without Dr. Gyves' or the district's knowledge - with Ms. Smith to secretly manipulate the benefits provider selection process in an attempt to ensure tha CVT remained the district's provider,'' the district said.

The district said Velazquez-McIntyre's actions included identifying to Smith a third-party evaluator to potentially compare CVT's plan with that of the other provider that she knew Gyves ``liked,'' communicating with Smith, sometimes using Velazquez-McIntyre's home e-mail address, about ``educating'' Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Roger Gallizzi so ``he can not claim ignorance of what he should have evaluated and also possibly get them to remove Roger from the process of doing the evaluation.''

Velazquez-McIntyre also communicated with Smith about Gyves' pay and that the teachers union should use that information at the bargaining table as leverage regarding their health care benefit, the district's charges said.

``This happened over months and months of time where they exchanged communication, many of which were of a confidential nature from the district's perspective,'' Gyves said. ``Those communications were intended to retain Central Valley Trust as the provider.''

As to why the two would commit a conspiracy, Gyves said, ``You have to ask that question ... yourself. I have my own opinions.''

Smith denied any conspiracy. She said Velazquez-McIntyre represented her group of employees on a benefits committee and was having trouble getting information, so Smith said she sent her information.

Smith said it was she who recommended the third-part evaluator, not the secretary, and that it was she who had concerns about Gallizzi.

Velazquez-McIntyre's attorney said district officials are retaliating against her because she had made a charge of a hostile work environment over the pornographic photos.

``I think the district is mischaracterizing the acts. There were acts she did do, but not in violation of any rule, policy or regulation. Part of Nancy Smith's job is to work on health benefits. It would be a normal thing. There was no conspiracy,'' Trygstad said.