SAN JOSE — A school district has agreed to pay $10.3 million to a group of former Sierramont Middle School students who were groomed and sexually abused in the late 1990s and early 2000s by a teacher who last year was convicted and sentenced to two decades in prison
Gardner taught at the school more than two decades ago and was plagued by allegations of inappropriate conduct with students. He was allowed to resign after a police investigation at the time failed to yield any criminal charges against him. In 2021, students came forward again with abuse allegations after Assembly Bill 218, which was in effect from 2020 to 2022, granted a one-time extension of the statute of limitations.
“They could have gotten rid of him for any reason, but instead they chose to keep him despite the complaints, despite the red flags,” Cerri added, referring to the district’s wide authority to terminate Gardner because of his non-tenured status. “And after the complaints, you would think they would have eyes all over him.
Gardner was hired at Sierramont in 1996; he taught science and also coached the track team and advised the chess club at the school.