A popular high school teacher has been fired in Contra Costa County, and dozens of parents and students turned out to protest the decision.
Doug Scott, a former science teacher at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, has been on the job for 28 years, and some are wondering what he did wrong.
His supporters say nothing. Scott merely got into a battle of wills with the principal, and his firing was in retaliation.
Scott spoke to supporters Monday night across the street from the Mount Diablo school board meeting, where those supporters sang his praises.
"He’s an amazing teacher, a really intelligent man, very inspirational and very passionate with the students," one supporter told the board.
According to Scott, two weeks ago, just as the semester was about to begin, College Park Principal Joe Alvarez fired him, and did not give a reason.
Scott says it may be a retaliatory move after Scott flunked a student last spring and Alvarez, at the request of the student’s parents, changed the grade to passing.
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The two locked horns, and that feud, according to Scott and parents, resulted in Scott’s dismissal.
Scott said he was told: "You got 15 minutes to get what you want out of your room and on your bike before you turn in your keys and get escorted off campus."
Alvarez declined to comment on the dismissal.
District Superintendent Robert Martinez also said he could not comment on a personnel matter.
"If they say I’m going, I’m gone," Scott said, "but I’m not done."
