Oakland schools whistle-blower gets job back, but pursues complaint

Lili Ortiz, right, of the Oakland Unified School District, was placed on administrative leave after questioning payments at her school. At left is her lawyer Judith Wolff on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Oakland, CA. less Lili Ortiz, right, of the Oakland Unified School District, was placed on administrative leave after questioning payments at her school. At left is her lawyer Judith Wolff on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Oakland, ... more Photo: Paul Kuroda / Special To The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Kuroda / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Oakland schools whistle-blower gets job back, but pursues complaint 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

For six months, Lili Ortiz kept getting a paycheck from Oakland Unified while she sat at home, waiting for district officials to decide whether she could go back to work.

Ortiz, an administrative assistant at Fremont High School, said she was fired in December without explanation after raising questions about unusual financial transactions, including vague invoices and a worker’s overtime pay. She filed a labor grievance and was told by her union representative that she was placed on paid administrative leave.

But district officials never contacted her about her leave or the alleged financial improprieties. She heard nothing from the district, but her paychecks kept arriving: $5,378.61 every month.

“Nothing,” Ortiz said. “I’ve heard nothing.”

Then, following inquiries from The Chronicle, the district — through an outside law firm — contacted Ortiz last week to ask her about the financial allegations. And on Wednesday, they told her she had her job back, acknowledging the district failed to tell her why she was placed on leave in the first place and why she remained there for months, according to Ortiz’s attorney, Judith Wolff.

Ortiz still doesn’t know why she was fired in the first place and plans to continue to pursue a government claim she filed in May, a required first step before a lawsuit against a public agency. Ortiz said in her whistle-blower claim that she believes she was fired by school administrators to stop her from asking more questions about the invoices and overtime pay, and to prevent her from communicating those concerns to others.

District officials said they were looking into the allegations, but declined to provide specifics about the invoices, the overtime or Ortiz’s employment status.

“We are in the process of investigating a number of issues mentioned in your inquiry,” said district spokesman John Sasaki, in response to a request for information on the alleged improprieties. “Due to the sensitive nature of the topics (a personnel matter and active litigation), we are unable to comment further at this time.”

Sasaki also declined to comment on how the district currently monitors overtime and other expenses at school sites or what process is used to resolve the status of someone placed on paid leave, choosing instead to provide a link to the district’s legislative website, which did not include the details requested.

Photo: Paul Kuroda / Special To The Chronicle Lili Ortiz of the Oakland Unified School District, is on...

The allegations at Fremont High come as state and county officials have raised questions about Oakland Unified’s ability to provide adequate oversight of its finances as it faces ongoing shortfalls and $21.75 million in recent budget cuts to balance the 2019-2020 budget.

A year ago, an independent state agency found the district ignored standard accounting practices and had an unsustainable spending problem.

The report, by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, found such sloppy accounting practices that the district was unable to provide accurate reports on finances.

Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell assured the public when the report came out in June 2018 that the district had already addressed many issues and was continuing to strengthen the checks and balances in budgeting and spending.

Ortiz was hired in September as an administrative assistant to manage the budget at Fremont High, ensuring invoices were paid and payroll was processed correctly, filling an open position. She had worked for the district previously, from 2000 to 2014, as an administrative assistant and then office manager, leaving on good terms, according to her claim.

Photo: Paul Kuroda / Special To The Chronicle Judith Wolff who is representing Lili Ortiz of the Oakland Unified...

In October, according to her government claim, Ortiz said she noticed some unusual activity: an $11,000 invoice from the Marcus Foster Educational Institute, a nonprofit that provides mentors and other services to the district, that simply stated, “for industry professional.” Invoices typically include a name and service rendered, and the absence of that raised a red flag, Ortiz said.

Co-principal Rosemary Rivera had approved the payment, but when asked what it was for, the co-principal told Ortiz, “Don’t worry about it. Just pay it,” according to her claim.

Ortiz said in her claim that a Marcus Foster official and her SEIU union representative separately told her the $11,000 was paid to the school’s attendance clerk.

Then in December, while reviewing payroll information, Ortiz noticed that the attendance clerk had submitted 108 hours of overtime from October through November — about 11 hours per week. The attendance clerk had claimed 33 hours of overtime Thanksgiving week, including hours on Thanksgiving and the day after, when school was not in session and he was not required to work, according to the claim.

Ortiz, who was required to work the first three days of Thanksgiving week, said she did not see the attendance clerk in the office during that time.

On Dec. 3, Ortiz said she asked the attendance clerk about the overtime, which had also been approved by Rivera. He became visibly angry, Ortiz said in her claim.

The attendance clerk did not respond to requests for comment. Rivera declined to comment, referring questions to district officials.

The district fired Ortiz a week after she confronted the attendance clerk. She said she was not given a reason for her dismissal, nor did human resources interview her or contact her prior to her firing. That same day, several teachers — unaware of her forced departure — posted notes to a staff email list praising Ortiz’s work ethic, according to the government claim.

The district hired a private law firm to handle the employment dispute as well as the investigation into the possible financial impropriety, according to Wolff. The firm declined to comment.

Days after The Chronicle contacted the district and the law firm regarding Ortiz’s claims and employment status, the private attorneys contacted Ortiz and then interviewed her, Wolff said.

But the outside attorneys asked questions only about the possible misappropriation of funds, Wolff added, and did not address Ortiz’s employment status.

In her claim, Ortiz is asking for an investigation into the financial allegations, plus $400,000 for “severe emotional distress and humiliation,” as well as depression, anxiety and sleeplessness.

She now has her job back, although it’s unclear whether she will be placed at Fremont High or another site.

“I love managing the budget,” Ortiz said. “I’m good at it.”

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker