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One of the nation’s top attorneys accused Gilroy school officials Wednesday of outrageous conduct in allowing a teacher to return to the classroom after a complaint alleging sexual misconduct with a student.Gloria Allred, who has been involved in high-profile women’s rights and other civil rights cases, addressed the Gilroy Unified School District board at its regular evening meeting on behalf of Celeste Benn, who has claimed that officials, including superintendent Debbie Flores, refused to listen or mete out appropriate punishment when she alleged in October 2014 that the teacher sent her daughter, 15, sexually charged text messages.The teacher, Douglas Le, 25, was arrested April 26 by San Jose police on suspicion of soliciting lewd photos from minor boys. He resigned April 29.“He should not have been permitted to teach [in 2014], children and families have been harmed,” Allred said before a nearly full chamber at GUSD headquarters on Arroyo Circle.Allred called for a full investigation into, among other things, whether school officials complied with all laws in handling Benn’s complaint, including those that require officials to report suspicions that an adult might be sexually victimizing a minor.The Los Angeles lawyer announced a press conference for 3 p.m. today at school district headquarters about what her press release called the "sexual misconduct" case. The GUSD office is at 7810 Arroyo Circle, Gilroy.On Wednesday evening Allred told the press there might be more minor victims.Calmly addressing the board, Benn called for changes in how the district deals with student safety issues.“You had one job to do and you failed to do it for my daughter and all the boys that followed,” she said.She described how she was refused meetings with Flores and Gilroy High School principal Marco Sanchez the day after the incident. The district only responded when she threatened to go to the media, but permitted Le to continue teaching, forcing her frightened daughter to transfer to Christopher High School, she said.As the meeting began, trustee Linda Piceno spoke for the board after a closed session. She said of the 2014 incident that Le’s behavior “did not rise to the level of dismissal” and that while his conduct was “unprofessional and unacceptable,” it was not a crime.However, an attorney who specializes in child abuse law and is closely involved in the Benn case told the Dispatch the district is wrong. A crime did occur, he said, because of the sexually explicit nature of the texts sent to Benn’s daughter. The district was required to report the incident to authorities, he said. He asked not to be identified.

Gilroy youth with dreams of being the next Scream Queen or box-office superstar can get their start in a locally produced film, featuring high-energy musical numbers from Broadway hits like Wicked, Hairspray and Hamilton.Auditions for Broadway Movie Musical, a salute to the American musical, will be held Thursday, May 26 in Morgan Hill.The call is open to participants ages 8-21, registration fee is $295 per person and all who audition will be accepted.“Seeing yourself on the screen in an actual movie theater is a very cool experience for actors of all ages, and we are excited to give local youth an opportunity to participate in this exciting film,” said John Bisceglie, the producer and director of the film.Participants will get to perform in multiple solo, duet, group and ensemble numbers, with filming taking place in locations across the Bay Area.The program consists of one rehearsal per week and will be offered in San Francisco, San Jose and Morgan Hill.A variety of singing, dancing and speaking roles are available for a wide range of ages, talent and levels of experience.“Some songs we will shoot out on location, and some in the theater in Morgan Hill,” explained Mattie Myers, filmmaker at 152 West Productions of Gilroy, which will be shooting and editing the film.Cast members will also get to record in a professional recording studio and there may even be some time spent in front of a green screen, said Myers.This will be the third production Myers has worked on with Bisceglie; she is a fan of his creativity and approach. Her own two sons participated in his youth theater group for 10 years.“It’s interesting, they have taken what John has taught them and applied it to their older years,” said Myers. “They can get up and talk in front of their class and it’s not a big deal.”She added: “He teaches kids that what they are doing is important. They learn to be prepared and give it your all—he raises the bar.”In 1985, Bisceglie founded Gilroy Children’s Musical Theater and worked with the city of Gilroy's Community Services Department on youth productions.Myers also worked with Bisceglie on Gleeful, a parody based on the TV series Glee, which included more than 100 local youth and played for 10 weeks at the Cinelux Theatre in Morgan Hill. This was followed up with ROAR! in 2013, a 1920s black and white movie musical that played at San Francisco’s Castro Theater.“We are like kids in a candy store with him,” said Myers of their collaboration. “It is exciting to be a part of that.”After filming wraps up and Myers and her team has worked their magic in the editing room, Broadway Movie Musical will premiere in selected Bay Area theaters in January 2017.For more information visit broadwaymoviemusical.com.

Wearing t-shirts with “Stomp out Sprawl” emblazoned across their chests and carrying two large file boxes filled with more than 3,500 signed petitions in support of an urban growth boundary (UGB) for Gilroy, the folks of Gilroy Growing Smarter (GGS) were in a celebratory mood on Monday at City Hall.

Greeted by nearly two dozen people who came to express concern Monday over a proposed zoning change, the City Council unanimously denied an application that would have cleared the way for construction of 16 two-story “duet-style” single-family homes along Hecker Pass Road.

Gilroy voters received a note last week from its schools chief, a four-page plug for Measure E, the $170 million bond question on the June 7 ballot to fix and build schools—and pay employee salaries, it turns out.

The Dispatch took the first place award for best front page design and second place for agricultural reporting in the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. Winners of the 2015 contest were announced this week.The winning front page design is for the Dispatch’s Dec. 11, 2015 issue, whose top headline reads “GAGE QUITS.” The award recognizes graphic designers Stephanie Woerhmann and Roger Black, along with publisher Dan Pulcrano, whose centerpiece photo of a sheep accompanies a news story on the City Council’s approval of plans to annex 721 acres of farmland north of the city for a housing development. With 10 months left in his term, former mayor Don Gage announced he was retiring from the council just before the annexation vote was taken.Dispatch reporter Roseann Hernandez Cattani took second place honors for best agricultural reporting with her Dec. 25, 2015 story about grower Jeff Martin, “Despite the drought, the county's only olive oil producer had a great year.”The Dispatch vied against newspapers in its circulation range throughout the state to win the front page and agricultural coverage awards.Sister papers the Morgan Hill Times and Hollister Free Lance also received CNPA honors, including a first place for best sports page or section (Free Lance), a second place for breaking news (Times), and second place honors for best columns, sports action photo and feature photo (Free Lance). In all, the Times earned three CNPA awards and the Free Lance earned seven.Sister paper the North Bay Bohemian took first place honors at CNPA for best writing, along with four other awards. Awards were also given to sister papers Metro Silicon Valley, Good Times Weekly and the Pacific Sun.In all, the associated papers won 21 awards from the CNPA, a trade group founded in 1888 that represents the daily, weekly, monthly and campus papers of California.

Students on Wednesday protested a proposal by the college administration to place a Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy on the Gavilan College campus in Gilroy starting next fall semester. They argue that the recommendation by President Dr. Steven Kinsella, expected to be made to the board of trustees at their meeting next week, goes against the advice of students, unions for faculty and staff and the Academic Senate who are concerned about having an armed presence on campus.Denise Apuzzo, president of California School Employees Association Chapter 270, which represents campus security officers, said the money to fund the deputy had been earmarked for an additional full-time campus security officer who could work in the evenings, along with and a daytime parking monitor. She was told those positions are now off the table and the director of campus security position would not be filled. The former director retired in December.Campus security already works with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol, which patrol the Gilroy campus and enforce federal, state, and local laws, including criminal laws and vehicle code violations as well as handling the investigation of all criminal and traffic cases that occur on the Gilroy campus, according to the Gavilan college website.“Our security staff have been able to provide more than adequate security,” said Apuzzo. “This recommendation is not in the best interests of students, staff or faculty.”Students representing the Associated Student Body of Gavilan College said the $248,000 in salaries would be better spent hiring campus security officers and funding mental health programs. At the gathering, student protesters also highlighted the risk an armed presence would have on triggering anxiety among veterans and alienating students who may have been in trouble with the law before but who are turning their lives around.“Gavillan is a very safe place and we do not want guns on campus,” said Adrian Lopez, a student body officer and student trustee on the Gavilan Joint Community College District Board of Trustees, where he has an advisory vote. He said 350 students so far have signed a petition against the proposal.“We have a relationship with campus security; we trust them,” said Iris Cueto, 22, who serves as vice president of student activities on campus. Cueto who is in a wheelchair because of gun violence, said she feels the campus security police would be better equipped to handle conflicts on campus rather than an armed law enforcement officer.Protesters were also critical that the sheriff’s deputy is scheduled to work during the day, not in the evening.Not everyone at the protest, however, was against the proposal.Student Connor Quinn, 29, said while he feels safe on campus and had not experienced an active-shooter situation at the school, having an armed law enforcement officer on campus “is not a big deal.”“People are less likely to do something; it’s a deterrent,” he said.Pausing on their walk through campus, JJ Johnson, 19, and Jamie Ross, 18, said having an armed sheriff’s deputy would create an impression in the community that is at odds with their own personal experience of the school.“We saw more fights at our high school than we do here,” said Johnson, adding he feared people would attempt to do “stupid things” knowing there was a deputy on campus.“I would rather see more campus security than a sheriff’s deputy who can only be at one place at one time,” said Ross, adding that the presence of an armed deputy may give visitors or prospective students pause for thought.“People will say, ‘why do they need a sheriff or gun here? They must have lots of problems—I don’t want to go here.’”

The community is welcome to celebrate the life and legacy of Natalia Salcido, the Christopher High School cheerleader who tragically died last year in a car crash on Miller Avenue, a week before her 16th birthday at an afternoon remembrance ceremony at Luigi Aprea Elementary School. The event starts at 3:30 p.m. and will feature entertainment, cheer bow making and a balloon release at sunset. The ceremony will also serve as a fundraiser for the Natalia Salcido Legacy Foundation, with NSLF t-shirts, bracelets and car decals for sale. There will also be refreshments, a bake sale and raffle.

SAN JOSE – Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton scored goals in the third period as the San Jose Sharks downed Nashville 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Second Round Sunday night at sold-out SAP Center.

Bullies, unions, growing schools, lunches and working in a community of great diversity are just some of the things Debbie Flores has dealt with in her decade at the helm of the Gilroy Unified School District. And just this month she was selected Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators, a tremendous honor.