Chula Vista

Second Sweetwater Union High School District Family Seeks Legal Action Against District

After feeling ignored by their school district, two mothers are moving forward with legal action

NBC Universal, Inc.

Safety is once again the topic of conversation among Sweetwater Union School District parents

“I send my children to school, hoping it's a safe place, a place where they can learn and just focus,” said Aysha Ali, a Castle Park High School parent.

Yet, two Sweetwater families say that's no longer the case.

According to Civil Attorney Hugo Salazar, a Southwest High School Junior injured himself while at school.

“The Southwest student fractured his elbow during P.E. class while participating in a soccer activity in the fields,” said Salazar.

The student tripped on a hole in the soccer field, he added. The student’s mother didn't want to go on camera but did share with NBC 7 that her son had to undergo several weeks of therapy to recover from the incident.

“The mother has actively reached out to the school, to the district, and was constantly ignored,” said Salazar.

Just last week NBC 7 heard from another Sweetwater mother who alleged a similar incident happened to her son. This one happened at Castle Park High School.

“On August 9, my son was participating in P.E. class. He was doing a warm-up drill across the blacktop and he had the mishap and stepped down in a pothole where he actually fractured his ankle,” said Ali.

Since the incident, Ali, said she also has not been able to get in contact with the school.

Both mothers are now taking legal action.

“Hopefully they’re hearing this so that they can take the proper steps to get the school back into a safe and thriving place,” said Ali.

NBC 7 reached out to the school district last week and again this week regarding these allegations. Both times they sent the same statement:

“The Sweetwater District prioritizes the safety and security of our students. The district will continue to review our procedures to ensure the safety of all students."

Both mothers said their kids are feeling better since their incidents, but now their bigger frustration is feeling ignored.  

In July, during a district board meeting, Sweetwater unanimously approved a plan to seek millions of dollars in bond money for improvements. NBC 7 also asked the district about this but they said they were unable to respond at this time due to the district being on fall break.

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