The head of the St. Paul school district’s facilities department has repeatedly mistreated female employees since he was promoted to the position in 2014, according to four former managers in the department.

At least two high-level female managers have quit over what they said was Facilities Director Tom Parent’s misogynistic treatment, and a third last year received a $16,000 settlement after she was fired.

Parent was required to complete sensitivity training but he’s never been disciplined by the district.

Alissa Pier, who succeeded Parent as planning manager in October 2014 after he was promoted to director, said Parent made her work life so miserable that she quit in March 2016.

“I felt that I was held to different standards, demeaned and retaliated against for voicing my concerns regarding disparities between how men and women were being managed in the department,” Pier said in a written statement.

“The experience of working under Tom Parent was stressful to the point of making me physically ill. I felt as though I had no choice but to leave once it became apparent to me that the district had no interest in curtailing his improper and unprofessional behavior toward his staff.”

Pier never took legal action, but the woman who replaced her did.

COMPLAINTS LODGED WITH BOSSES

Lisa Jansen spent nine months as Parent’s planning manager until he fired her in September 2017.

In a complaint to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Jansen wrote that she had complained to Parent’s bosses that he was treating her unfairly because she’s a woman. She alleged that Parent “had a history of being threatened by strong women and taking steps to remove them from his department.”

Last October, the school board approved a $16,000 settlement to resolve that complaint.

The settlement agreement required Parent to participate in sensitivity training, which was to include a discussion on harassment and retaliation. District spokesman Kevin Burns said that training took place in January.

The agreement barred Jansen from talking about the settlement publicly. She declined to comment for this report.

In response to a Pioneer Press public records request, the school district released the settlement agreement seven weeks after the school board approved it and Superintendent Joe Gothard signed it.

School board members Mary Vanderwert and John Brodrick said they never inquired about the issues that led up to the $16,000 payment. The other board members did not return phone messages about the matter.

Vanderwert said Parent always has treated her well and she was surprised to hear of the allegations.

“How disappointing that it’s happening there, if it is,” she said.

DISTRICT SAYS IT SEEKS A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT

Parent responded to multiple interview requests by referring a reporter to Burns.

In a written statement, Burns said creating a positive work environment is a priority for the St. Paul district, which recently created a new position to better investigate allegations of harassment, unfair treatment and inappropriate behavior. He did not address specific allegations against Parent.

Through Burns, Gothard and Jackie Turner, Parent’s supervisor, declined interview requests.

FEMALE MANAGER: I WAS PAID LESS

Nan Martin, who was Parent’s administrative services manager, said he closely monitored when his female managers were in the office and expected them to work at night, while a male manager often left early to play tennis.

Martin said she was paid much less than the other managers and was frustrated that Parent never approved a new position she had requested. Parent often double-checked the work of his female employees, she said.

Jose Cervantes, who retired as assistant director in late 2016, agreed that Parent treated men and women differently.

Cervantes said he won approval for new positions and Parent did not question him about time spent away from the office. He and another male manager had autonomy, he said, while Parent micromanaged both Martin and Pier.

“I observed both women as being very professional, having strong work ethics and being committed to the organization. They were at work early, stayed late and also were available to attend night and weekend meetings,” Cervantes said in an email.

A TEAM-BUILDING RETREAT AND COMPLAINTS

Martin, who had worked with Parent in the private sector and liked him, said their interactions changed when he became facilities director in 2014.

She said she complained to board member Brodrick and to the human resources department in hopes they’d get Parent some help.

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Martin said the district set up Parent to fail by placing him in charge of hundreds of employees without assigning a mentor or teaching him how to manage budgets and people.

She said she left the district in October 2017 when she saw Parent treating Jansen the way he’d treated Pier.

“I said I’m not going to stand for this again,” she said.

When she quit, Martin said, “I looked at Tom point blank and said, ‘You got to change.’”