Lawsuit: Fledgling School Demands Better Facilities

A California judge ruled for the removal of a high school district superintendent from a lawsuit over a facilities dispute.

Everest Charter School is suing the Sequoia Union High School District claiming the district failed to provide adequate facilities to the school after the state board of education approved the school's charter petition earlier this year.

An attorney for the defendants claimed that superintendent Pat Gemma was not personally liable - and a San Mateo County judge agreed. "He's not the decision-maker" said head counsel David Levy, "the five members of the board are the decision-makers."

With Judge John Grandsaert's decision, the lawsuit only names the school district as a defendant.

As the lawsuit proceeds, the court will assess Everest's claim that the portable buildings given to the school by the district do not satisfy Proposition 39, the state charter school law, by being "reasonably equivalent" to facilities at other district schools.

Attorneys for the charter school say that the decision to remove Gemma as a defendant has no effect on the lawsuit's ultimate goal of attaining improved grounds for Everest students.

According to the Everest Charter School website, in the 2008-2009 school year, 44.7 percent of students were economically disadvantaged and 29 percent met the federal guidelines for free and reduced lunch programs.