Parents and students admonish PAUSD over Fletcher Middle School reassignment; board hears repeated pleas for transparency and safety

Dozens of parents, students and community members addressed the board during an emotional open forum on Aug. 19 to demand immediate action and transparency after a teacher reassignment to Fletcher Middle School.

Mar Lucas, a parent who said her son — a Gunn wrestler — died by suicide eight years ago, urged the board to treat student mental health with urgency: “I’m continuing my plea from last spring that this community treats suicide like the epidemic that it is,” she said.

Multiple commenters described students at Fletcher as fearful after the district reassigned the teacher identified in public remarks as Peter Colombo. A seventh‑grade student, Emily, told the board she repeatedly sought help at school and was dismissed or met with consequences when she reported feeling uncomfortable: “No one from the district or from school has told me so. What I know of Peter Colombo makes me feel unsafe in a place where I’m supposed to feel safe,” she said.

Other commenters said the district delayed informing families about the reassignment and relied on legal or contract constraints rather than transparent communication. Parent Casey Walker called for immediate reversal of the placement and for an independent, stakeholder-driven review: “Mister Colombo should be put back on TOSA,” Walker said, asking that any review exclude people named in the lawsuit to avoid conflicts of interest.

Speakers repeatedly requested practical accommodations for students — including opt-outs from the teacher’s classes, increased counseling support, and reassignment to non-student-facing duties while an independent review occurs. Several parents said district staff had not shared the results of any internal inquiry. Community members emphasized the scale of concern: multiple speakers said more than 200 parents or students have expressed distress and asked trustees to commit to action.

Why it matters: commenters tied the issue to the district’s pledge to create a safe, emotionally supportive environment and to recent student deaths. The session reflected strong community alarm that officials’ handling of personnel decisions is harming student well‑being and trust in school leadership.

What the board did: The Aug. 19 meeting record shows repeated public pleas but no board motion to reverse the reassignment during the meeting; multiple trustees acknowledged the gravity of commenters’ concerns and the limits of board authority under collective-bargaining rules, but no immediate personnel decision was recorded.