Schools

Top civil rights and sexual harassment attorney Gloria Allred sued Gilroy’s school district Thursday for negligence and failing to safeguard a 15-year-old high school girl from a teacher’s lurid sexual taunts even after her mother complained.The lawsuit presents publicly for the first time the explicit nature of some of the text messages Gilroy High School chemistry teacher Doug Le is alleged to have sent to the girl in October 2014.It was filed in Santa Clara County Superior court on behalf of the girl and her mother, Celest Benn of Gilroy.San Jose Police arrested Le, 25, on April 26 on suspicion of enticing minor boys by dressing as a woman and asking them for nude photos, according to the lawsuit and police.Le resigned from his teaching position April 29, some 18 months after Benn first alerted school officials to his behavior and the danger to her daughter and others.Le also coached track and was a student mentor and advisor at GHS, according to the suit.At a Thursday press conference in front of the Gilroy Unified School District offices on Arroyo Circle, Allred would not speak aloud all of the words in the texts, using a single letter at one point instead of the word for the male genitalia.They were, however, listed in the lawsuit as follows, with some editing: “You suck d . . . Yeah your whore mouth can fit whole apples in there . . . You’ll die alone . . .” and another about defecating on the teenager.The suit alleges the district and high school’s failure to prevent and stop Le’s behavior more than a year ago harmed the girl and that stopping and reporting him then might saved as many as 500 minor boys from Le’s advances.It calls Le’s and the district’s behavior “outrageous and extreme” and alleges also that the district knew that “Le had engaged in dangerous and inappropriate conduct, both before his employment [by GUSD] and during that employment.”Allred also claims that the district violated state law by not reporting what they knew to the proper authorities.Benn at the press conference read a prepared statement in English and Spanish that said, in part, “I am disgusted that the district did not do enough to protect my daughter. She had to leave her friends, her classes at Gilroy High School that we had moved cross country for her to attend.” Her daughter transferred from Gilroy High School to Christopher High School, but Allred said Le’s harassment of the girl continued even after Benn reported his behavior to school officials.Benn has said she tried to meet with GHS principal Marco Sanchez and district superintendent Debbie Flores the day after learning of the texts, but they refused to see her. It was only after she threatened to go to the media that the district looked into the matter, she said.Le was “slapped on the wrist,” Allred said, and was allowed to continue teaching and his sexual harassment of minor students.The suit was filed “to hold the school district accountable for the harm they have caused her and our family,” Benn said.Vicki Barone, a GHS English Learners teacher, said she helped train Le to work with English Learner students in his advanced placement, biomedical courses.At the press conference, she told Allred that Le was classified as a temporary, or non-permanent, employee, and later said those employees can be let go at any time.“Yet this guy ends up back, that is weird,” she said.Barone accused the district and high school of being more interested in its wrestling program and advanced placement classes than in doing the right thing.“Kids are being harmed,” she said, adding that when she emailed colleagues at GHS about the Thursday press conference she received hostile responses.When two women spoke at Wednesday’s school board meeting in defense of principal Sanchez, who is widely respected in the community, some in the audience applauded them.The district, in a statement read at both the Wednesday board meeting and Thursday press conference, claims it took all the action it could against Le and that while unacceptable and unprofessional, his behavior was not criminal and did not rise to the level of dismissal.The lawsuit alleges Benn’s daughter “has suffered and continues to suffer great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life.”The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages, including punitive damages.

A mural at South Valley Middle School has got back its tiger and a local family’s story has come full circle.

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.

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.’”

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.

Gilroy Police locked down  Rod Kelley Elementary School and Mt. Madonna High School while they arrested two suspects nearby.On April 28, 2016, at 2:05 pm, the Gilroy Police Department learned that Cesar Resendiz was located inside an apartment on the 9000 block of Kern Avenue. Cesar was wanted for a felony warrant and is currently on supervised release. It was also learned that Cesar was in the company of his brother, Daniel Resendiz, who was wanted for multiple misdemeanor arrest warrants.Officers quickly contained and isolated the apartment, officers reported.Both suspects exited the apartment and were placed into custody without further incident. The schools were subsequently released from lockdown at about 2:45 pm.Both Cesar and Daniel Resendiz were later booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.  Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Investigations Bureau at (408) 846-0350. Information can be left anonymously.

A Gilroy High School science teacher suspected of posing as a woman online to get boys to send him lewd pictures was arrested Tuesday.

Shag Beauty Bar in downtown Gilroy went from hair salon to Project Runway last Sunday as 27 sewing students modeled their handmade outfits to a packed house.

Waving blue pom-poms and screaming like their favorite team just scored the winning point, students at South Valley Middle School on Tuesday celebrated the school’s placement at the top of the leaderboard in a Bay Area math competition.Called LearnStorm, the initiative from Mountain View-based Khan Academy, is a nine-week math challenge open to all students in grades 3-12 that uses gaming concepts and a point reward system to encourage students as they gain greater math proficiency.At a special assembly on Tuesday, representatives from the academy along with Gilroy Unified School District superintendent, Deborah Flores; GUSD Board of Education member James Pace and school principal Anisha Munshi celebrated the school’s achievement in the math competition rankings, receiving a trophy for placing No. 1 on the Mastery Total Points leaderboard.“It is an amazing program,” said Valerie Kelly, South Valley Middle School math teacher and math department chair. During the assembly, Kelly presented top-scoring students with a certificates for their hard work.“The competition keeps them on task,” said Kelly, highlighting the point structure and the competition’s use of videos and diagrams to keep students engaged.All of the school’s math classes—more than 800 students—participated in the 9-week competition, which will culminate at a grand ceremony at Levis Stadium on April 5, where select schools in the Bay Area will be recognized.Flores said the competition, which started on January 29, and is made available to schools for free, rewards perseverance and reinforces skills taught in the classroom.“I love the way the program is set up,” she said, adding that her own son participated in a trial run of the competition last year at Gilroy High School. “It helps kids work through their math problems to figure out the answer.”Flores also appreciated the timeliness of the competition as a statewide math test is coming up in mid-April and the extra math preparation may help improve student scores.“I am hopeful that it will benefit individual performance in those assessments,” she said.Started as a pilot program at select schools in the region last year, the Khan Academy’s LearnStorm challenge is now available in counties throughout the greater Bay Area, from Napa to Santa Cruz.In the Bay Area, 1,000 schools participated in the competition this year, according to the Khan Academy.In addition to South Valley Middle School, Gilroy schools that participated include Gilroy High School, which placed second in Mastery below South Valley Middle School, Christopher High, El Roble Elementary, Glen View Elementary and GECA (Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy).To keep up with the latest school rankings, go to: learnstorm2016.org.

Dressed in suits, slacks and sensible shoes, nearly 150 local high school students “rocked the mock” last week, participating in workshops and a mock job interview session that aimed to prepare them for future employment.