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The stack of lawsuits against the Sequoia Union High School District continues to pile up, with former Menlo-Atherton secretary Ofa Taimani alleging district administrators engaged in racial discrimination and retaliation.
Taimani filed a lawsuit with the San Mateo County Superior Courts on April 25, adding to at least 10 lawsuits accusing the district of wrongdoing. The suit names Superintendent Crystal Leach, M-A Principal Karl Losekoot, Associate Superintendent Bonnie Hansen, M-A Vice Principal Emily Rigotti and former Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Todd Beal.
A school district representative said they were unable to comment due to pending litigation.
Taimani is being represented by civil litigation and criminal defense attorney Harry Stern, who is also representing former M-A basketball coach Mike Molieri in his lawsuit against the district.
“Ofa has joined the growing number of people who have been forced to file suit against the district, due to the untenable atmosphere of harassment, discrimination and retaliation,” said Stern in a statement to this news organization. “We named the individual administrators responsible because that is the only way to ensure accountability.”
Taimani, who had been working for Menlo-Atherton since 2015, was on medical leave starting in September 2024 due to work-related stress. In March 2025, after she had depleted her sick leave, she was fired by the district.
Taimani’s lawsuit cites its connection to an April 2023 incident in which a special education student at Menlo-Atherton was forced to the ground and arrested by Atherton police officers. The student’s lawsuit alleging the district released his confidential records and the Atherton Police Department of excessive force was settled for $560,000 this March. The student was never charged with a crime.
The district has not identified who was responsible for giving away the student’s records.
In her complaint, Taimani said she was called to a meeting with Beal in November 2023 about a complaint that was filed accusing her of providing confidential information about a special education student without the consent of their parents or a school administrator. The suit counters that claim by saying Taimani was on maternity leave during the alleged incident.
Taimani was also accused of allowing a visitor into the assistant principal’s office, where photos of the room were taken illegally.
These accusations gave Taimani a panic attack, triggering a decline in her mental health for the next three years, her complaint states. Her condition started to deteriorate, forcing her to take medical leave as she sought treatment.
The lawsuit alleges that “her medical condition was caused by the defendants’ harassing, retaliatory and discriminatory conduct toward” her. It adds that a “qualified medical evaluator opined that her medical condition is industrially related.” Taimani filed a workers’ compensation claim which is still pending.
According to court documents, when Taimani returned from medical leave in April 2024, she was assigned a new position and was not trained for its job duties. Soon after, she received an employee evaluation where Rigotti accused her of two complaints similar to the ones made by Beal.
The district’s investigation into Taimani did not provide any copies of documentary evidence. It was confirmed in August 2024 that no written complaint was filed or produced, according to the lawsuit.
The investigation concluded that Taimani had improperly asked Rigotti for confidential information but did not sustain the accusation that she shared the student’s private information without consent.
A month later, Rigotti allegedly admitted to Taimani that the verbal complaint made against her was false and that the changes to her new role were retaliatory, according to the suit.
Taimani’s complaint claims she continued to endure harassment from administrators and had to take medical leave again in September 2024. During this time, she filed a complaint of retaliation against Leach, Beal, Hansen and Losekoot, but alleges that the district failed to address her concerns.
Taimani told this news organization in September 2025 that she felt she was “blindsided” when the district terminated her, suddenly leaving her without a job and benefits. She said she had no prior warnings that she was about to lose her job.
In the last two years, Taimani also filed a tort claim against the district and a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“First and foremost, Ofa is an educator dedicated to lifting up her students,” said Stern. “She certainly never envisioned having to go to court to vindicate her right to work in a safe environment. But here we are.”
In the lawsuit, Taimani seeks monetary compensation for attorney fees and lost wages due to her inability to work.
Citizen’s of Menlo why continue to have your tax dollars spent defending individuals who are absolutely guilty of many items.
It should go to good teachers , students but until this board is replaced and the administration is changed, more lawsuit will come let alone children will remain in danger. When these named defendants are under oath you will see how bad these individuals are and all the length of intentional acts to hurt innocent people. However they won’t go to court or if they do, the District attorney will seriously have to consider criminal chargers . So the choice is up now to the citizen’s as we will continue to protect all these victims from individuals that should have been terminated a long time ago. Evidence videos and testimony are all in our firms hands so hopefully this stops soon before another student or teacher are harmed intentionally.