UNITED STATES NEWS

LA district wants to settle claims over teacher

Dec 7, 2012, 12:28 AM

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Unified School District hopes to settle 189 legal actions by late January in a case involving a former elementary teacher accused of lewd acts with students that were so shocking, they prompted the district to remove all employees at the school while it did a thorough investigation.

The number of claimants stemming from the case is unprecedented in the nation’s second-largest school district, where lawsuits allege officials did nothing to protect children from the Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of feeding students semen-laced cookies in what he called “tasting games.”

Former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso is overseeing the mediation process that involves 16 law firms representing 126 students and 63 parents and guardians, said the district’s general counsel, David Holmquist.

Two lawyers representing 26 of the 189 students and parents announced Wednesday they were not participating in the mediation and were instead filing separate lawsuits. Lawyers Martha Escutia and John Manly filed four lawsuits this week, bringing the total number of suits against the district in the case to eight. They said they plan to file 22 more as soon as they can.

Holmquist said the district was taken aback by the lawyers’ action but said he still anticipated they would participate in the settlement, which could come within weeks. March is the outside deadline for the settlement to be reached, he said.

The district is focused on reaching an agreement “that makes sense, protects the students and restores trust,” Holmquist said.

Gregory McNair, chief business and compliance counsel, said the district doesn’t want children traumatized by having them testify in court. “The litigation process can be a brutal process,” he said.

Reynoso, currently a law professor emeritus at University of California, Davis, is being assisted in the case by two other retired judges. He is interviewing numerous families as part of the claim evaluation process, Holmquist said.

Settlement funds would be partially covered by an insurance policy and by the district’s liability fund, Holmquist noted.

The litigation stems from the January arrest of former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewdness for allegedly feeding students semen-laced cookies over five years.

After his arrest, investigators found several hundred photos of children participating in Berndt’s “tasting games,” which involved blindfolding children with cockroaches on their faces, biting into cookies laced with a milky-white substance and being spoon-fed a similar liquid. Investigators said the substance appeared to be Berndt’s semen.

In an unprecedented move, the district removed all employees at the school while it investigated how Berndt’s alleged actions went undetected for so long. The employees were allowed to return to the school, or others, this semester.

The district has assigned 16 psychiatric social workers to Miramonte and surrounding schools, where former students may be located, and has several support programs for parents, said Pia Escudero, director of school mental health and crisis counseling. Attendance at the school is 97 percent.

Lawyers Escutia and Manly said Wednesday they opted out of the mediation talks because the district had stonewalled them on handing over documents about other alleged cases of teacher sexual misconduct.

Holmquist and McNair denied that they held back any documents.

___

Contact the reporter at
http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

United States News

Associated Press

Man gets 37-year sentence for kidnapping FBI employee in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — One of three people convicted of carjacking and kidnapping an FBI employee in South Dakota has been sentenced to 37 years in prison. Juan Alvarez-Sorto, 25, was sentenced Friday in federal court, the Rapid City Journal reported. Alvarez-Sorto and Deyvin Morales, 29, were found guilty in January. Alvarez-Sorto also was […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Michigan attorney general to announce charges in investigation of former top lawmaker

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors plan to announce charges Tuesday in an investigation of the former leader of the Michigan House, the attorney general’s office said. Attorney General Dana Nessel is scheduled to speak to reporters in the state capital at 2 p.m. EDT. An email from Nessel’s office didn’t indicate who is being charged. […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Whitey Herzog, Hall of Fame manager who led St. Louis Cardinals to 3 pennants, dies at 92

NEW YORK (AP) — Whitey Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title in the 1980s and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. He was 92. Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday the team had been […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Texas fined $100,000 per day for failing to act on foster care abuse allegations

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A federal judge is fining Texas $100,000 per day for routinely neglecting to adequately investigate allegations of abuse and neglect raised by children in the state’s struggling foster care system. U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack in Corpus Christi ruled Monday that the Texas Health and Human Services agency has […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Microsoft invests $1.5 billion in AI firm G42, overseen by UAE’s national security adviser

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in a technology firm based in the United Arab Emirates and overseen by the country’s powerful national security adviser. Microsoft and the technology holding company G42 announced the deal Tuesday. As part of the agreement, Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, will join G42’s board of directors. The […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Federal appeals court overturns West Virginia transgender sports ban

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a West Virginia transgender sports ban, finding that the law violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. The 2-1 ruling Tuesday from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocks a West Virginia law banning transgender girls from […]

4 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

COLLINS COMFORT MASTERS

Here are 5 things Arizona residents need to know about their HVAC system

It's warming back up in the Valley, which means it's time to think about your air conditioning system's preparedness for summer.

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University Clinics: transforming health care in the valley

Midwestern University, long a fixture of comprehensive health care education in the West Valley, is also a recognized leader in community health care.

...

DISC Desert Institute for Spine Care

Sciatica pain is treatable but surgery may be required

Sciatica pain is one of the most common ailments a person can face, and if not taken seriously, it could become one of the most harmful.

LA district wants to settle claims over teacher