Former Boyle Heights principal alleges backlash for being vocal on safety issues

Karin Kroener-Valdivia, a former Boyle Heights principal, is suing LAUSD for retaliation. 

Kroener-Valdivia alleges that she was forced to resign after raising concerns about what she contended were dangerous working conditions and security risks.

Her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages.

"This constructive discharge resulted from an orchestrated campaign of harassment, including intentionally depriving plaintiff of necessary administrative support, disregarding safety concerns and continually failing to provide appropriate professional oversight," the suit states.

An LAUSD representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Thursday.

Kroener-Valdivia became principal at Boyle Heights Continuation School in October 2022. Beginning that year and continuing through 2024, Kroener-Valdivia began speaking out about such issues as ensuring comfortable classroom temperatures, the need for a designated administrator on campus to step in when she had to attend administrative meetings, the need for a larger campus to support the school's educational goals and the need for the school facilities to be in compliance with required physical education standards, the suit states.

The school shares the campus with Theodore Roosevelt High School. According to a story from Boyle Heights Beat, the school didn't benefit from a modernization project in 2023. 

Kroener-Valdivia also was vocal about an intruder who came on campus many times as well as gang-related violence nearby, but she was chastised for raising the issues, the suit further alleges.

In retaliation, Kroener-Valdivia was given her annual reviews late, was shortchanged on her coaching and support for the 2023-24 school, subjected to false accusations by a teacher, falsely accused of missing deadlines and not being asked to return for the current school year, the suit states.

Kroener-Valdivia, 57, also contends that her supervisor began ostracizing her, negatively impacting her employment, and did not respond to the plaintiff's emails. Kroener-Valdivia eventually filed a complaint with the LAUSD's Equal Opportunity Section last April. When the administration told the plaintiff that same month that she was not being allowed to continue as principal in the fall, she was informed she also could not compete for an assistant principal job either, but could seek to be a teacher, the suit states.

"Other less-qualified administrators were given leadership positions while plaintiff was systematically pushed out," according to the suit, which further states Kroener-Valdivia was denied a teaching position at a district continuation school in San Pedro because it is an "options school," an alternative to a traditional learning campus, the suit states.

Kroener-Valdivia submitted her resignation in May that became effective the next month, years prior to her intended retirement date, the suit states.

Kroener-Valdivia has suffered both lost income and emotional distress because of the district's adverse actions, the suit alleges.

Additional reporting by City News Service.