The Dehesa School District in East County is facing a lawsuit from its former principal, Natoshia Bartley, who claims she was fired in retaliation after reporting a series of serious safety and compliance violations at the school. Bartley is the fourth principal fired by the district in the past five years.

Bartley was hired as vice principal in 2024 and promoted to principal by the school board in September of that year. Her lawsuit alleges that within two days of starting, she discovered an environment she described as riddled with violations of California law. Among the problems her attorney, John Gomez, cited at a press conference: no safety plans, no CPR-certified coaches on athletic fields, students going unaccounted for on school buses, and medications administered to children without documentation.

Most significantly, Bartley claims she found that attendance records had been fabricated. A subsequent state audit confirmed the records were falsified, potentially costing taxpayers nearly one million dollars in improperly claimed funding, according to Gomez. When Bartley reported the violations to her supervisors, the San Diego County Office of Education, and a third-party investigator, the lawsuit alleges she was belittled, isolated, and had her authority stripped away before being fired in June 2025.

Bartley described her decision to speak up as straightforward. Her attorney said she did not look the other way and did not protect her job by staying silent. A recent graduate of Dehesa School told NBC 7 that she had watched four principals hired and quickly fired during her time at the school, and said Bartley was the first who seemed capable of making a real difference.

The Dehesa School District denied all claims made in the lawsuit, and Superintendent Bradley Johnson declined to comment. The case is expected to proceed to trial.