WCCUSD wins case that would have forced it to repair school, hire more teachers

A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, rejecting the argument that the district had violated students’ rights to a safe school and certified teachers. 

Judge Terri Mockler denied the petitioners’ request for a writ of mandate, which would have ordered the district to address staffing shortages and complete the requested repairs at Stege Elementary School. 

The case was the first to use the 2004 Williams v. California ruling, which established that students have a right to adequate school supplies, a school in good repair, and a qualified teacher. The judge’s Oct. 11 ruling was filed as a one-page denial, without explanation. It said, “the Court does not see a basis for the Writ of Mandate,” which is an order that would have compelled the district to take action. 

Mockler sided with the district, which argued that there was no need for a remedy at Stege because the district had moved Stege students to DeJean Middle School at the start of the school year while Stege is being renovated. To the claim that students at Stege, Helms Middle School and Kennedy High School have a right to certified teachers in each class, the district told the court that vacancies at those schools are the result of a national teacher shortage and not for lack of trying.

“It is a basic standard of public policy and common sense that the District cannot force someone to work for it,” wrote Katherine A. Alberts, the district’s attorney.

The lawsuit against the district was filed in July by the nonprofit San Francisco firm Public Advocates on behalf of five petitioners. It listed about 45 complaints regarding the three schools. Karissa Provenza, an attorney at Public Advocates, said this week she is concerned about the judge ruling that districts do not need to provide students with qualified classroom teachers. 

“That does have statewide implications as well,” she said. 

Provenza reached out to district leaders last fall to inform them of their legal obligation to address the grievances, but that they never responded. In January, Public Advocates brought more complaints, this time regarding teacher vacancies at Stege Elementary, Helms Middle School and Kennedy High School. After no response from the district, Public Advocates decided to take legal action.

“We just haven’t seen the outright disregard of this complaint process in such an egregious matter as we have in West Contra Costa,” Provenza said. 

For the past few years, parents and teachers have repeatedly complained at school board meetings about teacher vacancies. In 2022, parents held a protest over dozens of teacher vacancies. Last year, the teachers union brought period subbing to the public’s attention, saying their members repeatedly were being asked to give up preparation time to sub in vacant classrooms. 

“We need to set precedent that school districts need to attract and retain talented educators, and every student deserves a clean, safe learning environment that challenges them and makes them excited to go to school,” Sam Cleare, a Stege teacher and one of the petitioners in the lawsuit, said this week. 

The district’s interim communications director, Raechelle Forrest, did not respond to multiple calls and emails from Richmond Confidential requesting comments or an interview. Alberts declined to comment. 

In her opposition to the motion Alberts outlined the steps WCCUSD has taken to address the vacancies, including attending dozens of job fairs, and partnering with Teach For America and  universities to attract early-career teachers to the district. 

Provenza believes the ruling errs in its interpretation of the Williams decision, which she argues does require districts to provide permanent, properly credentialed teachers as a right of students. She said the district has not fully explored emergency procedures to fill teacher vacancies, such as waivers and permits for educators working to become fully credentialed. 

“Substitutes are not a legal remedy for a vacancy,” she stressed. 

Despite the ruling the lawsuit itself may have been enough to force the district to prioritize modernizing Stege, parts of which are 80 years old.  

“I do know that 48 hours after we filed, they did close the school down,” Provenza said. “So it does seem like the pressure worked.”

Added Cleare, “We’re going to keep fighting to set precedent.” 

For Stege students at DeJean, the school year apparently started out well, even though the shift to the middle school happened abruptly. 

“To be honest with you, this is running really smoothly for me,” Shelby Miller, a Stege parent, told Richmond Confidential in September. “The kids have been safe. I haven’t seen any red flags here at all.”

But others raised concerns about the younger students from Stege attending a campus designed for middle schoolers. 

“This is bad. This school is not for them,” said Maria Keith. “Do you see a play structure out there?” 

Construction at Stege is expected to last until 2027. 

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People of Richmond: How is the school year starting out?