A San Diego-area school district superintendent was fired this week, nearly a year after students alleged she threatened to ban them from graduation ceremonies after they inadequately applauded her daughter at a banquet.
The board that oversees the roughly 35,000-student Poway Unified School District voted unanimously to dismiss Marian Kim Phelps during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
In a statement read by President Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, the board said it “has lost all confidence and trust in Dr. Phelps’ ability to continue to serve as superintendent.”
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Players, coaches and parents allege that Phelps bullied and harassed members of the softball team at Del Norte High School, a Poway Unified campus in San Diego, during an after-season team banquet on May 30, 2023. Phelps, players alleged, was upset that her daughter, who was named team MVP that evening, did not receive applause from her teammates Phelps deemed adequate.
The perceived slight, players alleged, prompted Phelps to launch an investigation — and threaten to bar seniors from participating in their graduation ceremonies.
She used an “investigation” in an effort to make the threat actionable, though. She wasn’t done after the threats.