A former Dehesa School District principal who alleges she was retaliated against and ultimately fired for speaking up regarding attendance reporting discrepancies, safety violations and other alleged issues, has filed a lawsuit against the district, according to court papers obtained Friday.
Natoshia Bartley alleges that after raising concerns regarding district practices that she believed violated state law, she was terminated less than a year after she was named principal.
Among the issues raised in her lawsuit concerned the district’s accounting of student attendance, which the complaint states was also referenced in a 2025 state audit that allegedly found that the district didn’t comply with accurate attendance record requirements.
Bartley’s lawsuit also states she discovered health and safety violations at the campus, including a lack of treatment for students visiting the health office, rat droppings inside the school, and school coaches that lacked required certification for CPR or First Aid.
Bartley claims district leaders responded to her concerns by placing her on administrative leave, then ultimately terminating her employment.
Dehesa School District Superintendent Bradley Johnson said in a statement that the district could not comment on the pending litigation filed by Bartley.
However, Johnson noted in his statement that he filed a separate defamation lawsuit last December “which will finally demonstrate the truth with respect to false and damaging statements about me.”
That lawsuit is filed against a local journalist who authored several articles about the Dehesa School District that forwarded similar allegations regarding the district’s operations.
“I look forward to the facts being reviewed through the judicial process. On the advice of counsel, I cannot provide further comment,” Johnson said of the defamation suit.
