By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/KvgkEo
06/05/2012 12:40:40 PM PDT/Updated: 06/05/2012 01:44:32 PM PDT :: The LAUSD employee who alleges he was sexually harassed by retired Superintendent Ramon Cortines has sent a letter to the district, refuting claims that a 2010 sexual encounter was consensual and saying that he can't return to work because officials bungled the original settlement deal.
The letter was sent late Monday by attorneys for Scot Graham, 56, the leasing manager who went to Los Angeles Unified in March with a request to quietly settle his allegations against Cortines.
While details of that original complaint have never been released, the letter emailed to the school district's staff and outside attorneys says it contains claims of "sexual harassment and retaliation" against Cortines and other Los Angeles Unified officials.
The letter also accuses the district officials of bungling the settlement deal when they prematurely announced that Graham would get a $200,000 cash payout and lifetime health benefits in exchange for his resignation.
The tentative deal was unveiled during a press conference the district held May 23, the day after the school board narrowly approved the proposal during a closed-door meeting. Officials also released a statement from Cortines in which he admitted to a single incident of "consensual adult behavior" with Graham.
"The LAUSD's public relations strategy afforded Mr. Cortines the opportunity to state than an inappropriate sexual advance was consensual when, in fact, it was not," says the letter, a copy of which was seen by the Daily News.
The letter also outlines how Graham was to have resigned on May 31 from his $150,000-a-year job as leasing manager for LAUSD's Facilities Department. After the district held the press conference and Graham refused to sign the settlement deal, he was ordered to return to work.
However, because his work environment would be so uncomfortable, Graham considers himself "constructively terminated" and he's unable to return to work, the letter said.
"Mr. Graham's name has now been associated with an incident of sexual harassment that was ignored and concealed by the LAUSD," the letter continues. "The LAUSD knew or should have known that its actions were likely to humiliate Mr. Graham, make the prospect of returning to work at LAUSD intolerable and greatly diminish his ability to secure new employment."
Los Angeles Unified officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the school board was set to discuss the issue during an executive session set for today.
The letter said Graham's attorney's plan to seek additional damages because of the fallout from the bungled settlement. However, they also propose trying again to negotiate a settlement, but want Superintendent John Deasy involved.
"We are suggesting direct negotiations with John Deasy because we feel that the current process has been tainted by a series of missteps, violations of LAUSD policies and outright bad faith tactics," Arnold Peter, one of Graham's attorneys, said in a statement.
"These actions have created the current impasse and the unfortunate public spectacle in which our client has been thrust. We have confidence in Dr. Deasy's ability to be fair and impartial and feel that we can work cooperatively with him to resolve this matter."
It is unclear what Deasy's role could be in the negotiations.
He has been excluded from the school board's closed-door discussions of the case because he joined the district in August 2010, about a week after the alleged incident between Graham and Cortines.
As superintendent, his attorney is General Counsel David Holmquist, who also is the lawyer for the school board. Holmquist is also one of the officials to whom Graham made his allegations of sexual harassment.
The district had to hire an outside attorney, Linda Savitt, to represent it because of the conflict of interest.
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