Rotten to the core

IT'S NO SURPRISE to find Dan Barton at the center of a controversy. The Gatewood Elementary School principal is facing a lawsuit filed by three of his former teachers. If not settled, it will come before a King County Superior Court jury in June 2002. This is only the latest in a series of problems to plague the troubled educator since he was hired before the 1993-94 school year. Barton arrived at the West Seattle elementary school eager to implement the educational theories he learned during doctoral studies at the University of Oregon. Although many of the changes he implemented were structural (for example, organizing children into two-grade classes taught by a team of teachers), his first major reform was to overhaul his staff. This resulted in the departure of several older teachers; Barton says that he refused to turn a blind eye to incompetent and unqualified staff members. While teachers and parents allege unprofessional, even threatening, behavior, Barton's aggressive approach earned him fans in the district's central administration, which blames much of his unpopularity on resistance to his innovative educational program (see "Principal problem," Seattle Weekly, 6/29/00).

The district's support continues, even though in the fall of 1999, Barton received a formal reprimand from the central administration based on evidence of inappropriate behavior toward two young female teachers.

Those two teachers—Laurie Decker and Jennifer Rosenstein—don't feel the reprimand went far enough. They filed suit against Barton and the Seattle School District in January, alleging the district failed to respond adequately to their sexual harassment complaints. A third teacher, 49-year-old veteran substitute Victoria Withrow, has joined the suit, claiming the principal unfairly passed her up for a permanent teaching job in favor of younger, less qualified applicants.

And the three teachers have a ton of courtroom ammunition—courtesy of the district's own investigative files. Their attorney, Judith Lonnquist, obtained the case file resulting from the original Decker and Rosenstein complaints and shared them with Seattle Weekly. In interviews with investigators, more than a dozen staff members claim Barton engaged in a variety of outrageous behaviors, including hitting on female teachers, writing fake job evaluations, and engaging in frequent sexual patter.

Much of the new information directly or indirectly supports the allegations made by Decker and Rosenstein. Moreover, interviews with Gatewood teachers bring up new and potentially more serious examples of Barton's failings as a principal than those addressed in the formal reprimand. And while criticism of the controversial educator has long been characterized by the administration as the work of a handful of malcontents, the investigative interviews might best be characterized as an informal "no confidence" vote on Barton from his own staff.

This casts doubt on Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske's stated commitment to demand accountability from his principals. In recent years, more power has been turned over to individual principals, who are characterized as the CEOs of their schools. In return, the district demands results. Last spring, Olchefske demoted four principals for failing to reach the standards expected of them, the first such demotions in more than a decade. Why didn't the allegations of the Barton investigation raise serious questions as to whether he is maintaining standards of excellence? The district may need to answer this in front of a jury next June.

Bring it on, says district spokesperson Lynn Steinberg. "We are going to vigorously defend this lawsuit," she says. "We believe the district acted appropriately in this matter."

"Dan Barton made a mistake," she continues. "He apologized for it to both his staff and to parents, he was reprimanded for it, and now it's time to move on."

A FAR CRY FROM the archetype of the kindly elementary school principal, Barton was hired to the Gatewood post at just 38 years of age. He had an impressive r鳵m鮠After teaching at a Catholic high school in California (he was Bishop Montgomery High's "Teacher of the Year" in 1983), Barton earned his administrative credential and moved on to posts as assistant principal and principal in two California public school districts. In Seattle, Barton quickly proved uninhibited in his pursuit of teachers he considered underachievers. One of his early targets obtained an anti-harassment order against her then-boss (the case was dismissed). Barton's brusque style also didn't wear well with some parents.

Since Barton's arrival, the exodus of both students and teachers to other schools has been significant and constant. Yet recent years have shown improvements in student test scores, and his progressive educational program continues to draw young teachers and parents to the West Seattle school. Last year's Seattle Weekly investigation found a hard-core group of Barton backers at Gatewood. When an earlier article addressing Barton's troubles appeared in the West Seattle Herald, it touched off a two-month-long flurry of letters, alternately defending and excoriating Barton.

Lois Schipper, co-president of the Gatewood PTA, hopes the continuing criticism of Barton doesn't sink his educational program. The sexual harassment investigation (1999), the West Seattle Herald article (2000), and the three teachers' lawsuit (2001) each came to light in early February, giving Gatewood bad press during the school choice process, she says. "Any press—positive or negative—affects how parents choose [their children's schools]," she says. "People are eager for something to help sway them one way or another." Her message to potential Gatewood parents is simple: The educational program at the school works. "We've got a strong school going right now—we have a very committed staff that is working very hard," she adds.