After the MVLA district board meeting on March 9, it appears that the district plans to take the ongoing case against MVHS Principal Kip Glazer to court. 

The lawsuit, Carla Gomez et al. v. Kip Glazer et al., alleges that Glazer violated the First Amendment through “her bullying, threatening, and coercion of student journalists,” to censor an article written by the Oracle about sexual harassment at MVHS. 

The lawsuit was first filed on Feb. 22, 2024, and a Trial Setting Conference was set for March 10 this year. While the case was an item on the closed session agenda, no relevant actions taken were named in the Report on Action Taken in Closed Session, indicating that the district has not yet decided whether to settle the case or not.

The district will continue to have the opportunity to settle the case, which will move towards court. At the March 10 conference, dates were set for a settlement conference, trial assignment, and a jury trial. 

A similar case against the San Francisco Unified School District ended in January with a favorable outcome for Lowell High School journalism adviser and instructor, Eric Gustafson, who sued the district after he was removed from his journalism positions due to controversial content in the school newspaper. The judge ruled that Gustafson’s reassignment was illegal and ordered the district to reinstate him as the journalism teacher and adviser. 

The trial for Gomez et al. v. Glazer et al. is scheduled for Nov. 23 this year.