Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) is facing two lawsuits alleging that district leadership has an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda and engaged in discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
The first lawsuit, filed last week in San Diego Superior Court by former school librarians, claims the board majority has an anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-diversity agenda. The majority includes Scott Eckert, Robert Shield, Jim Kelly and Gary Woods.
The suit says, among other things, that the board banned books with LGBTQ+ content, retaliated against library staff who support LGBTQ+ students and ended a contract with a mental-health provider because it separately offered specialized services to LGBTQ+ people.
In February of last year, the board voted to eliminate 49 staff positions including librarians, teachers and other staff positions to help close an anticipated $2.4 million budget deficit.
Since then, details have emerged that call into question the board’s reasoning for making the cuts.
Public records published by the San Diego Union-Tribune last year are referenced in the suit. The records revealed private text threads including members of the board’s majority that focused on ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and reducing the number of librarians.
One text said, “freeze all library funds and micromanage all library purchases.”
Another talked about “making a process, which would be impossible for ‘woke’ books to be adopted.”
The trustees did not respond to KPBS interview requests. Collin McGlashen, district spokesperson, sent KPBS a statement.
“While GUHSD does not comment on pending litigation, the District will defend itself fully against the claims in the lawsuit through the appropriate legal channels,” McGlashen wrote.
Clarissa McLaughlin, an alumnus of West Hills High School and a critic of the school board’s recent actions and policy changes, said she was happy to learn of the suit.
“I was surprised and delighted that this might be an opportunity for the librarians, that they might be able to get some justice,” McLaughlin said.
The other Superior Court lawsuit was filed last week by Tenzin Peling, a former director in the district's Special Education Department. The suit claims Peling was the “target of a coordinated campaign of discrimination, harassment and retaliation orchestrated by the anti-LGBTQ board members and their coconspirators.”
The suit states she was demoted twice between March 2024 and March 2025, first from director to vice principal and then to classroom teacher.
She says in the lawsuit these actions were motivated by her sexual orientation, her non-Christian belief and her advocacy for LGBTQ+ students.
These suits aren’t the first time the district has been sued for LGBTQ+ discrimination. In November, the district agreed to pay a $1.2 million settlement to a former administrator who says she was discriminated against for being lesbian. As part of the settlement agreement, McGlashen said the district admitted no wrongdoing.
Jay Steiger is a parent of students who graduated from the district. He’s also a teacher in the Poway Unified School District and ran for a Grossmont trustee seat in 2024.
“The sad thing is, this is a preventable expense, and it's a self-inflicted wound,” Steiger said. “They're placing ideology, they're placing politics above what's right for the students.”
He worries about the district’s future given the cost of the lawsuits.
“The danger for this district is that you're going to see them expending dollars that could better be spent supporting our students, supporting our staff, doing good things for our schools, for our kids, for our community,” Steiger said.
