Community Coalition Sues Pasadena Unified Over Madison Elementary School Related Records

A community coalition and a Pasadena resident have filed a lawsuit against the Pasadena Unified School District and its top administrative officials over what they contend are “bad faith responses” to Public Records Act requests.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday by Plaintiffs CCEJAM (Citizen’s Council for Empowerment and Justice at Madison) and Pablo Alvarado. a Pasadena resident who lives across the street from Madison Elementary School and is Director of the Pasadena Job Center.

Besides the District itself, the defendants named in the lawsuit are Superintendent Brian McDonald and Associate Superintendent Mercedes Santoro.

The lawsuit involves two sets of Public Records: First, the records that Superintendent McDonald relied upon in deciding whether or not to use a site principal selection committee for selecting a new principal for Madison Elementary School; and, second, the records relied upon by Associate Superintendent Santoro when she publicly asserted that all of the allegations against Principal Juan Ruelas had been investigated and found to be without merit.

Local civil rights attorney Skip Hickambottom, who is one of the attorneys representing CCEJAM and Alvarado in the lawsuit, explained that “the crux of the dispute is whether PUSD will respond to Public Record Act Requests seeking the documents that Superintendent McDonald relied upon for his decision to deny stakeholder input at Madison and the documents that Associate Superintendent relied upon to reassure the public that PUSD has appropriately investigated – if there are any such documents. ”

Hickambottom said in a press release Friday that Pasadena Unified has not properly complied with Public Record Acts requests and has instead offered  nothing more than a “bad faith” responses.