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Former Woodside High School counselor Sharlett Downing has filed an amended lawsuit with 17 additional claims which name Superintendent Crystal Leach, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Todd Beal, Board of Trustees and Shaw HR Consulting, a third party consulting firm.
The lawsuit claims that the district did not comply with state disability laws or school board policies, and unlawfully outsourced sensitive personnel matters to an unapproved third-party vendor.
Downing, who alleges she was wrongfully terminated by the district in 2022, has chosen to represent herself in this lawsuit, while battling breast cancer and worsening mental health conditions.
“I decided to represent myself because I was tired of being sidelined in my own case,” Downing said to this news organization.
The amended suit highlights six board policies that Downing alleges the district has violated, including nondiscrimination, reasonable accommodation, fair investigation of employee complaints, uniform complaint procedures, confidential medical records and board approval for engagement of consultants for employee matters.
Downing worked at Woodside High for 16 years and in the midst of her career was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and ADHD, she said. She began to receive work accommodations for her mental health in 2016, but when district administrators left during the COVID-19 pandemic, new administrators denied her requests for continued flexibility.
As her health continued to decline, Beal allegedly denied her request for six weeks of medical leave for therapy and placed her on a 39-month re-employment list, according to the suit.
The list is used to terminate employees who have exhausted all paid and unpaid leave and are still medically unable to work with reasonable accommodations. However, it promises them priority in the hiring process for vacant positions.
“I gave years of my life to this district, serving students, families and staff and when I needed them to follow the law, their own policies and do the right thing, they turned their backs on me,” Downing said.
Over the course of 35 months, Downing has sent over 30 email to the school board with complaints about Beal’s actions and asking it to comply with its own policies, she added.
Without healthcare coverage, Downing says her anxiety worsened into panic disorder with agoraphobia. Her cancer has tripled in size due to “prolonged stress of litigation and the lack of access to early medical intervention,” according to the suit.
“This situation has been devastating to my health,” Downing said. “The district took away my stability, my healthcare and my peace of mind.”
Additional claims allege disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to provide reasonable accommodations, misuse of public funds, defamation, disability harassment, interference of rights under California Fair Employment and Housing Act and more.
Downing alleges that Beal’s denial of accommodations was unlawful. According to the lawsuit, he sent Downing an inaccurate balance of her remaining leave of absence and contracted with Shaw HR Consulting, an unapproved consultant, to manage and facilitate an accommodation meeting with her.
Prior to the meeting, the consulting firm allegedly contacted the plaintiff’s doctor and demanded her confidential medical records without consent. These records were used to justify her removal as a counselor, according to the suit. Downing claims this violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act and Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.
Through public records, Downing found that since her termination, Superintendent Leach has approved over $3 million for legal expenses, to defend charges made against the Board of Trustees. Two separate California Civil Rights Department complaints and a Public Employment Relations Board charge have been made, according to the suit.
Downing said the “records indicate that specific budget allocations such as bonds intended for infrastructure and special reserves have been used to finance the District’s legal defense.”
“This spending is not just fiscally irresponsible but indicative of the district’s intentions to obstruct justice rather than uphold its responsibilities under state and federal law,” writes the lawsuit.
Downing explained that the involvement of a third-party consulting firm led to the district’s failure to conduct a fair and objective investigation and an invasion of her privacy through confidential records.
The lawsuit states that as of now, a valid contract with Shaw HR Consulting has not been approved by the school board.
Due to the ongoing litigation and stress, Downing said she has had to miss two scheduled surgeries to treat her cancer.
“The district has a long history of failing minority students and employees, especially those that challenge their authority. They retaliate, they intimidate and they think they can get away with it, but people are finally standing up,” she said.
Downing is seeking full compensation for all payments and benefits she would have received if not terminated; lifetime healthcare benefits; attorney fees; compensation for emotional distress and medical expenses; and lifetime therapy costs.
The suit asks for a court order requiring the district to implement policies ensuring compliance with disability laws and the uniform complaint process. Downing is also asking for mandated anti-discrimination and disability training for all staff, including a specialized “disability sensitivity” training for current and future district leadership.
Downing said the experience has led to an interest in the law. She is hoping to complete the California Law Office Study Program and asks in relief that the district cover all costs for the program and any necessary expenses to aid in her studies to complete the state’s bar exam.
“I just want people to understand that this fight isn’t just about me,” Downing said. “It’s about every employee who has been pushed out, every student who has been underserved and every family that has been impacted by the district’s negligence.”
The district stated that they are aware of the amended lawsuit but cannot comment on pending litigation. According to SUHSD spokesperson Naomi Hunter, the district is currently in the process of compiling an “extraordinary amount of information” that has been requested by Downing in the discovery process.
In the meantime, the district states that Downing will be offered any open positions for which she is qualified.
“It’s one thing to lose a job; it’s another to lose faith in an institution you once believed in,” Downing said. ”At the same time, I refuse to let them break me. They wanted me to disappear, to walk away quietly. But I’m still here and I’m still fighting because the truth matters.”
