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Former Hollister High School English teacher Ann Tommy is suing the San Benito High School District alleging discrimination and harassment based on race and violation of state law.
In the lawsuit filed in San Benito County Superior Court, Tommy, who is Black, says the harassment and hostile work environment led her to have difficulty sleeping, suffer panic attacks, severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and a need to make emergency room visits.
Tommy says in the lawsuit that she has taken an extended medical leave and that her doctor has indicated that a return to work would be “detrimental” to Tommy’s health without significant accommodations.
According to the lawsuit filed on Oct. 27, Tommy is asking for unspecified damages, back pay of wages and benefits “of nearly $90,000” and for reinstatement to her previous position or “front” pay instead of rehiring.
She is also asking for the court to require the district to implement policies and procedures to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
As of publishing, the district had not filed a response and Chief Human Resource Officer Cindi Peterson told BenitoLink the district does not have a comment and will not provide statements while the matter remains in active legal proceedings.
According to the lawsuit, throughout the spring of 2024, Tommy experienced “harassment and pressure” from the high school’s English Department Chair Carissa Alvarez via texts, phone calls, [and] emails while off duty, and “even during approved FMLA [Family and Medical Leave Act] bereavement leave” regarding work-related matters.
She does not specify the content of the communications from Alvarez, nor when the alleged hostile work environment and harassment began but states she began taking FMLA starting in January 2024.
In the lawsuit, Tommy points out that Alvarez was also the parent of a student in Tommy’s class who was involved in several disciplinary incidents, one of which led to a suspension in March 2024.
According to the lawsuit, that student was receiving accommodations for his disabilities known as a 504 plan.
Among the incidents Tommy references in the lawsuit includes a “parent/teacher” conference after Alvarez “formally complained” regarding her son’s grade on a final project that included a song that used the N-word and profanities, and alleged that her son’s 504 plan accommodations were violated.
According to the lawsuit, the conference was held in August 2024 during which Tommy “felt pressured to change the student’s grade.” She states Alvarez acted both as an administrator “evaluating plaintiff’s professional performance” and as a parent advocating for the grade change.
In that meeting, she states two other school representatives were present and that Alvarez “insisted that plaintiff, as a black woman, should be able to teach Alvarez’s son why [the] use of the N-word is offensive.”
According to the lawsuit, after the meeting, Tommy sent an email to other administrators including district Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum and requested district support and an investigation “into the racial insensitivity and harassment she was experiencing.”
Tommy also stated that she discovered on Aug. 9, 2024, that her students’ disciplinary records had been erased from the system, including records involving Alvarez’s son, two days after the conference.
She alleges Alvarez “had unauthorized administrative access to the school’s gradebook system (which explained how plaintiff’s block 2 gradebook had mysteriously disappeared on March 1, 2024).”
Tommy outlined how issues with her gradebook began on March 1 and that she was notified of complaints by students, parents and counselors for alleged gaps in her record-keeping. She said she was also pressured by the district administration to address the issue while dealing with family medical emergencies. She maintained that she kept up with her gradebook reports.
She went on to say that in late August 2024 she received a doctor’s note stating she could not return to work for a week because of “stress and health impacts of the hostile work environment,” but that toxic environment continued through the fall.
Tommy said she raised her concerns about harassment to several administrators starting with Principal Kevin Medeiros in April 2024 and later raised those same concerns with the Human Resources Department and Tennenbaum, but that the issue was not addressed.
She said the district’s “failure to adequately address her complaints through internal processes” led her to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 2025 but that mediation held the following April was unsuccessful because of the district’s “unwillingness to address the issue.”
According to Tommy, teachers Gabriella Rico and Crystal Zavala quit their positions because of “mental health issues allegedly related to the toxic work environment created by Carissa Alvarez’s conduct.”
A case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 10:30 a.m. in San Benito County Superior Court.
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