On July 18th, 2016, United States District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton granted a summary judgment to the Brentwood School District in the matter of Garedakis, et al. vs. Brentwood Union School District, et al.
Judge Hamilton ordered that the case be dismissed on the merits and that the defendants recover their costs. The court found that the lawsuit lacked factual and legal basis and thus could not proceed. The plaintiffs have appealed the dismissal.
On August 26, 2014, the Brentwood Union School District received 15 claims, on behalf of students and parents, alleging physical or emotional abuse by special education teacher Dina Holder. One minor plaintiff settled prior to the dismissal of the case for $105,000. This legal filing was the third to allege abuse by Holder, whose teaching credential was revoked in 2013 following a no-contest plea to child abuse for kicking a student in 2010. The prior lawsuits were settled prior to a court ruling on their merits.
The decision to recover costs, including attorney fees, rests with the district’s joint powers authority (JPA) which is a risk pool made up of many school districts. Any money recovered as a result of the dismissal of this case will go to the JPA to cover their costs incurred in defense of the district.
The district has one pending lawsuit that alleges abuse by Holder. Hirsch, et al. vs. Brentwood Union School District et al. alleges Holder abused two former students, now adults, during the 1998-1999 and 2001-2002 school years.
In the time since these cases were filed, our District has made extensive enhancements to its training for employees, and district training now exceeds state requirements. Through a partnership with the Child Abuse Prevention Council, nearly 1,000 employees and substitutes have received additional, in-person training on the responsibilities of being a mandated reporter. We are committed to maintaining a culture in which every adult in our district understands the responsibilities we share to keep our children safe.
Our current staff continues to work tremendously hard to meet the educational needs of all of our students. We will continue to vigorously defend the district and staff against unwarranted litigation. We are pleased with the outcome of this case so that our resources can be better utilized to provide the best education possible for all of the nearly 9,000 students we serve today.
