Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Edward Brand released a statement Friday evening in response to a San Diego District Court judge’s ruling on a Title IX issue at Castle Park High School.
“The Sweetwater District is in the process of analyzing the ruling, but in all likelihood we will be appealing the ruling,” Brand said. “We find that the standard for which girls’ sports facilities outlined in this ruling is not applicable to high school sports—it aligns with university-level sports.”
Judge James M. Lorenz of the U.S. District Court for Southern California on Thursday ruled in favor for a group of female athletes against the district, saying the school district unfairly favored boys’ sports over girls’ sports at Castle Park High.
The plaintiffs sued for injunctive relief under Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education and athletic programs.
The case, Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High School, et al., was filed in 2007 by the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, California Women’s Law Center and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
Since the initial complaint, Brand said the district has made more than $1 million in improvements to the softball field at Castle Park High School.
“The improvements there have become the standard for softball field upgrades throughout the district,” he said. “…And we encourage everybody to look at the field and its amenities.”
