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PE.com | Inland Southern California | Inland News
A second former director of instruction has filed a lawsuit against the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, claiming mistreatment by his former employer.
Tomas Garcia, who served as director of instruction between 2001 and 2005, charges in a suit filed in Riverside County Superior Court on July 31 that he was racially discriminated against, was denied leaves of absence and was denied tenure.
Terry Gregerson, who replaced Garcia in 2005, filed a federal lawsuit in May in a U.S. District Court, claiming his constitutional rights were violated when he was fired after speaking up to his boss about problems at the school.
The lawsuits underscore the turmoil that for years has beset the 450-student school that serves Southern California's deaf students.
Garcia did not return repeated phone calls.
Santa Ana attorney Christopher Nelson, who represents both former employees, said Garcia felt "uncomfortable" about commenting on the story.
Garcia was hired in 2000 as a teacher specialist and within a year, was promoted to director of instruction.
According to the lawsuit, Garcia charges that his supervisor, retired Superintendent Harold Kund, treated Garcia "in a disparate manner based on his nationality and ethnicity."
Moreover, Garcia "was constantly under the complaining scrutiny of Kund, who criticized nearly everything" Garcia did, according to the lawsuit.
Garcia attributes that to racial discrimination based on Kund's other alleged actions with racial overtones, according to the lawsuit.
For instance, Garcia alleges racial insults on campus went uninvestigated. Also, Garcia alleges Kund pushed him to get credentials while not applying the same pressure to white directors who also lacked similar credentials. Translations into Spanish of individual education plans for Hispanic special education students often suffered long delays.
Garcia also charges that he was denied a leave of absence to take care of his wife and newborn daughter.
Finally, as listed in the lawsuit, Garcia charges that because he was employed more than three years as a director of instruction, he should have obtained tenure as a teacher and therefore was entitled to continuous employment at the school unless given specific education code violations as reasons for dismissal. Instead, Garcia received a letter that simply said his contract wasn't to be renewed.
Garcia seeks $52,000 in lost wages and for the caretaker of his wife and child, and general undetermined damages for "stress, anxiety, embarrassment, humiliation and severe emotional suffering."
Kund didn't return phone calls.
Kund's supervisor, Ron Kadish, state director of special schools, could not be reached for comment.
Alyce Berard, the new director of instruction, worked under Garcia when she served as principal of elementary education. She couldn't speak about Garcia's charges, but said Friday that Garcia "was a bright person."
"He was good about helping me," she said. "I valued his opinion."
Gregerson's case ran into a roadblock soon after it was filed, Nelson said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an unrelated case in May that public employees' speech on the job has no First Amendment protection. The ruling allows supervisors to punish employees based on the employees' statements, Nelson said.
Nelson said he considered the ruling more of a delay than a setback.
They will drop the Constitution-violation claim, and will refile in Riverside County Superior Court.
First, however, several state entities such as the state personnel board have to conduct an investigation.
"It feels optimistic that justice will prevail," Gregerson said through an interpreter. "It's just a bump in the road."
A second former director of instruction has filed a lawsuit against the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, claiming mistreatment by his former employer.
Tomas Garcia, who served as director of instruction between 2001 and 2005, charges in a suit filed in Riverside County Superior Court on July 31 that he was racially discriminated against, was denied leaves of absence and was denied tenure.
Terry Gregerson, who replaced Garcia in 2005, filed a federal lawsuit in May in a U.S. District Court, claiming his constitutional rights were violated when he was fired after speaking up to his boss about problems at the school.
The lawsuits underscore the turmoil that for years has beset the 450-student school that serves Southern California's deaf students.
Garcia did not return repeated phone calls.
Santa Ana attorney Christopher Nelson, who represents both former employees, said Garcia felt "uncomfortable" about commenting on the story.
Garcia was hired in 2000 as a teacher specialist and within a year, was promoted to director of instruction.
According to the lawsuit, Garcia charges that his supervisor, retired Superintendent Harold Kund, treated Garcia "in a disparate manner based on his nationality and ethnicity."
Moreover, Garcia "was constantly under the complaining scrutiny of Kund, who criticized nearly everything" Garcia did, according to the lawsuit.
Garcia attributes that to racial discrimination based on Kund's other alleged actions with racial overtones, according to the lawsuit.
For instance, Garcia alleges racial insults on campus went uninvestigated. Also, Garcia alleges Kund pushed him to get credentials while not applying the same pressure to white directors who also lacked similar credentials. Translations into Spanish of individual education plans for Hispanic special education students often suffered long delays.
Garcia also charges that he was denied a leave of absence to take care of his wife and newborn daughter.
Finally, as listed in the lawsuit, Garcia charges that because he was employed more than three years as a director of instruction, he should have obtained tenure as a teacher and therefore was entitled to continuous employment at the school unless given specific education code violations as reasons for dismissal. Instead, Garcia received a letter that simply said his contract wasn't to be renewed.
Garcia seeks $52,000 in lost wages and for the caretaker of his wife and child, and general undetermined damages for "stress, anxiety, embarrassment, humiliation and severe emotional suffering."
Kund didn't return phone calls.
Kund's supervisor, Ron Kadish, state director of special schools, could not be reached for comment.
Alyce Berard, the new director of instruction, worked under Garcia when she served as principal of elementary education. She couldn't speak about Garcia's charges, but said Friday that Garcia "was a bright person."
"He was good about helping me," she said. "I valued his opinion."
Gregerson's case ran into a roadblock soon after it was filed, Nelson said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an unrelated case in May that public employees' speech on the job has no First Amendment protection. The ruling allows supervisors to punish employees based on the employees' statements, Nelson said.
Nelson said he considered the ruling more of a delay than a setback.
They will drop the Constitution-violation claim, and will refile in Riverside County Superior Court.
First, however, several state entities such as the state personnel board have to conduct an investigation.
"It feels optimistic that justice will prevail," Gregerson said through an interpreter. "It's just a bump in the road."
