Del Oro AD files lawsuit against Placer Union High School District

Placer Union High School District lawyers were served a discrimination and harassment lawsuit last week on behalf of Del Oro High Athletic Director and teacher Jill Butler. According to the legal complaint, filed in late July and served to district legal representation last week, Butler alleges harassment and discrimination after her application to become an assistant principal last school year was not processed. Butler is the ex-wife of Superintendent Jeffrey Tooker. The pair married in 2000 and divorced in 2013. They have one adult child together. The lawsuit alleges Butler was told Tooker disqualified her from two open assistant principal positions after "input from legal counsel." After using a lawyer to seek justification for the district's action, Butler received a letter from Roman J. Muñoz, district legal representation. Muñoz cited district board policy regarding the employment of relatives, which states the superintendent may determine on a case-by-case basis whether to appoint a person to a position in the same department. The policy states a person who "maintains a personal relationship" with the superintendent has the potential to create an adverse impact on the morale of other district employees or create a conflict of interest. "Plaintiff and Tooker are not relatives; they are former spouses who divorced 11 years ago. The relatives cited in the policy, such as spouse, domestic partner, children, nephews etc., do not include divorced spouse," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit goes on to state Tooker should have recused himself from any role in Butler's application for assistant principal because of his conflict of interest. Muñoz' letter argues that an assistant principal works alongside the superintendent. The lawsuit alleges an assistant principal answers directly to the principal. "As an administrator, an assistant principal must be trusted to receive direction from the superintendent and implement district initiatives as directed by the superintendent," Muñoz stated in his letter to Butler. "This requires a level of trust between the superintendent and the assistant principal, especially given that there are relatively few administrators." Butler's lawsuit alleges discrimination on her classification as an ex-spouse, which her lawyer, David Graulich, argues is a protected class. "You can't harass based on marital status," Graulich said in an interview with the Auburn Journal. "Marital status includes people who have been divorced." Graulich said he thinks this case may break new legal ground in California. "In my research, I haven't found this before," Graulich said. "The harassment is severe because it is blocking someone's career. This situation proclaims, 'You won't advance as long as your ex-husband is in this powerful position.' We want the courts to say that falls within the purview of harassment and discrimination by the protected class of marital status." Graulich said there is no relationship between Tooker and Butler now beyond the fact they work for the same employer. "You can't use a personal bias and personal prejudice to block someone's career," Graulich said. "It's going to be a good fight." After being served last week, the district and Tooker have 90 days to respond to the complaint. As for what Butler wants out of the lawsuit, Graulich said she is seeking a financial settlement and an apology. "We feel her career has been thwarted," Graulich said. "She wants a public apology at a board meeting. The apology is more meaningful for her than the money." The Auburn Journal reached out to the Placer Union High School District for comment and was told the district does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters.