The Daily Review, Hayward

1/20/04

Documents' end was start of troubles

By Ricci Graham

HAYWARD -- Sunday-Joseph Otengho's troubles began during a time of turmoil and upheaval.

It was during the week of Dec. 9, 2002. Otengho, one of a number of administrators brought in to the Hayward Unified School District by former Superintendent Joan Kowal, was in his office, overcome by emotion after learning of Kowal's abrupt dismissal.

The door to his office at the district headquarters was open, and a number of employees watched a sobbing Otengho allegedly place one paper after another into a shredder, according to personnel documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Daily Review.

What he fed into the shredding remains uncertain. But one thing is certain: That was when Otengho's problems with the district began to escalate.

A few days after Otengho was allegedly seen shredding documents, the associate superintendent received a letter of reprimand, one of five that would ultimately find their way to his personal file, documents show.

The greatest insult came a few weeks before Otengho received the first letter of reprimand. On Dec. 27, 2002, Otengho, who was vacationing in St. Louis at the time, received a call from Mike Janvier, the district's acting exec- utive director of human resources, informing the administrator that he was being placed on paid leave pending an investigation that never took place.

For the next few weeks, Otengho's life was a living hell as he fought to clear his name -- and salvage his career. Although he was eventually permitted to resume his duties on Jan. 17, Otengho is still attempting to cleanse his reputation, one that was soiled by allegations that were never substantiated.

"Nobody has called me on my performance," said Otengho, a Palm Beach County education administrator who was lured to HUSD by Kowal in 2002. "I don't know if I was being used as a ploy, as a scapegoat. The only logical reason is my being put on leave (was) to appease a political mob. It had nothing to do with anything."

Documents obtained by The Daily Review illustrate that Otengho, who earns $136,226 annually, was placed on paid leave shortly after he was accused of document shredding. The district officials, many of whom declined to discuss the matter, never determined exactly what documents Otengho may have disposed of, but suspicion mounted because of his emotional state immediately following Kowal's dismissal.

"The letter (of reprimand) says I was distraught," Otengho said incredulously. "Which board policy am I breaking? The whole thing was upsetting. She (Kowal) was a friend.

"It was upsetting that the community put us under."

Larry Booth, a trustee who failed in his bid for re-election last year, said the allegation involving the shredding of documents was without merit.

"The allegation that something was shredded makes it look like it was something devious," he said. "But that's not the case."

Otengho received five letters of reprimand in January of 2002. Four were placed in his personnel file on Jan. 17, including the one accusing him of shredding documents.

Another alleges that Otengho overstepped his authority when he attempted to obtain overtime and attendance history of Ariel Owens, the accounting manager whom his wife, Carol, works for.

The second letter filed on that day alleges that Otengho attended a three-day conference in Las Vegas in the spring of 2002 for the Advancement of Ugandan Americans Inc. The letter alleges that he recorded the absence as school-related business, district records show. The district also accused Otengho, who is the president and chief executive officer for the organization, of using district equipment to schedule and confirm a flight for a personal friend.

Otengho took great exception to the allegation, insisting that Kowal approved of the trip that he paid for himself. "There's no statement from her that denies she approved it," Otengho said. "For somebody to give me a reprimand (for the trip), it's total vindictiveness and not founded in fact."

Shortly after Otengho was placed on leave, the district searched his office and found "no less than 50 e-mails" that were generated in 2002, records reveal. The e-mails were "personal and sexually explicit" in nature, which the officials charged violated the district policies, records show. The discovery of the e-mails resulted in yet another letter of reprimand for Otengho.

"I really have no comment on that one," Otengho said. "If I was corresponding with someone, it's none of their business. If e-mails come on district time, then everybody in this district would have to be reprimanded. That is none of their business."

Otengho said his leave and series of reprimands were brought about by politicos who were hell-bent on purging the system of administrators brought to the district by Kowal, whose 19-month tenure was marked by controversy.

"They wanted all Floridians gone," said Otengho, whose contract expires this spring.

Booth concurred, saying that the stormy political climate at the time created a cloud of suspicion that hovered over Otengho