PVPUSD Responds to Lawsuit from Stadium Lights Committee

In light of a recent lawsuit from supporters of stadium lights at , the local school district is backing up its belief that striking the lights project was the best thing for the community, saying the lawsuit "has no merit."

"The district rejects this lawsuit as unmeritorious," a press release from the superintendent's office stated today. "We are confident that the decision to end this project was the right thing for the community and within the legal rights of the Board of Education and school district."

The Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee issued the lawsuit after threatening to sue months ago if a resolution was not reached.

A capital campaign project to bring stadium lights to the high school was ended by the in July 2011.

The committee that in terminating the lights project, district leaders misled committee members and violated district policies, including the Ralph M. Brown Act, which is an open meeting law.

The group's attorney, Martha Doty, in a Sept. 1 letter said the board did not follow its own rules with respect to the project, that the district and board "misled the steering committee and the donating public about their intentions," and that the board accepted money from the public for nearly one year despite knowing about opposition to the project on which the board based its decision to end the campaign.

"The steering committee brings this action against the board and the district for failure and refusal to engage in and complete the process they represented and promised they would engage in to determine the viability of installing lights at the Peninsula High School Stadium," according to a petition for writ of mandate and complaint filed Jan. 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The district was served with the lawsuit seeking damages and "trying to force us to move forward with the Environmental Impact process," the district's press release stated.

The district emphasized its position that the capital campaign "was dividing the community" and distracting from the district's purpose of educating students.

"It is unfortunate that in response to this decision, leaders of the Peninsula Stadium Lights Committee felt it necessary to file a lawsuit that has no merit," the press release stated. "The district will now be forced to defend itself and expend scarce resources on attorney’s fees and other legal costs that could have been spent on students and educational programs."