The Kern High School District honored 19 members of its staff who retired this year.
For one of those recognized, it was a bit ironic. That's because he and two other former district employees are suing the district. They claim they were forced into retirement after blowing the whistle on the district for not complying with the state's public contract code.
John Fox brought his attorney with him to the retirement ceremony. He was the Maintenance and Operations Assistant Director for the Kern High School District for 25 years.
"I did want to have one moment that I could shine a little bit maybe in people's eyes," explained Fox. "And, I'm here to have this bright moment in a really tough time in my life."
The lawsuit stems from findings that public roofing contracts were going to one company, Garland Roofing, time and time again, when state contracts are supposed to be put out to bid. John Fox was one to shine the light on the discrepancy and his attorney believes that has something to do with why he was suspended, then suspended without pay, and eventually forced into retirement.
"There's no doubt in our minds it's not only the roofing, it's the flooring. There's a number of other trades and bids that it involves," said Fox's attorney Stephen Wainer. "Certainly the roofing is a big part of it, but it's just the tip of the iceberg as far as we're concerned."
We asked Superintendent Dr. Don Carter about Fox receiving the retirement honor and the pending litigation.
"We're grateful for the service of all of the employees that have worked in the Kern High School District and we thank all of them for their service," said Carter. But, Carter would not comment on the wrongful termination lawsuit.
"It was odd that the district felt that he was such a bad employee that they wanted to fire him (Fox) and yet are now congratulating him on all of his years of service," said Wainer.
"There's still a lot of good people and maybe for what we're doing maybe some of the good people will also benefit from this too," said Fox.
The two other whistle blowers didn't show up to receive their retirement plaques. The wrongful termination suit is in its early stages. Wainer hopes to enter into mediation with the district soon.
