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Former Menlo-Atherton teacher and boys varsity basketball coach Mike Molieri has filed a lawsuit against the Sequoia Union High School District. The suit, alleging race and age discrimination and retaliation.
Molieri’s lawsuit was filed with the San Mateo County Superior Court on Oct. 28, six months after he filed a legal claim against the district April. According to his attorney Harry Stern, “the district did not take any action on our claim, thus it is considered denied.”
It has been over a year since Molieri was placed on paid administrative leave after the district claimed it was investigating allegations of his violation of several district policies, including the release of confidential student files to non-district employees, allowing students to be in his classroom instead of their assigned classes and making false statements about students to other staff.
The district also alleges that he was soliciting the school community to engage in the services of his brother Dan Molieri, a private investigator. Dan Molieri is currently working with the legal team representing the arrested Menlo-Atherton student in April 2023.
Molieri, who earned a base salary of about $149,000 in the 2023-24 school year, continues to be paid to stay at home.
“The district took away my passion and spirit for an entire year of supporting and ensuring all students be treated equally. They also took away my joy in coaching, to intentionally do harm to me. Five-hundred days and counting says it all,” said Molieri to this news organization.
The lawsuit names Superintendent Crystal Leach, former Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Todd Beal and current Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Bonnie Hansen.
According to the lawsuit, Molieri filed a Charge of Discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in October and received a Right to Sue letter.
Molieri, who is 59 years old, Hispanic and of Nicaraguan descent, alleges that his race and age were a motivating reason for the district’s decision to place him on leave. He joins a list of several former district employees who accuse district administrators of discriminatory practices.
The events outlined in the suit also include details involving the arrested M-A student, referred to as K.C. in legal documents. Detailed in his lawsuit, K.C. was in the special education program at M-A and allegedly had his confidential student records released to the Atherton Police Department by an undisclosed district staff member without parental permission.
Dan Molieri told this news organization that “no one has ever taken any punishment for giving away K.C.’s file.”
Molieri was K.C. ‘s teacher and took the initiative to discuss his concerns about the student, confidential issues pertaining to his student records and shared his advocacy for the socially and economically disadvantaged students of color with M-A Principal Karl Losekoot, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims that the district was in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Following the incident, Moieiri alleges that the district’s lawyer Eliza McArthur threatened him to participate in an active litigation involving a student and accused him of not following the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The suit said Molieri then filed a complaint against McArthur with Leach, who allegedly did not take any action to investigate the matter.
Months later, he received a letter notifying him that he was being placed on leave.
“I believe that other employees and administrators who violated the law and worked in concert with administrators to do harm to a child remain at work with no investigation. These are the facts that I want everyone to know and I expect accountability,” said Molieri.
“The next steps are for us to formally serve the suit and litigate the case to trial, if need be,” Stern added.
Guest Opinion: Has the Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees lost its way?February 1, 2026 1:50 pm