Ousted leaders of a Pueblo charter school filed suit Thursday in district court, alleging breach of contract, slander and abuse and seeking compensation from the board that fired them last week.
Lawyers for Lawrence and Annette Hernandez, the married couple who founded Cesar Chavez Academy in 2001, and Velia Rincon, a school administrator, are seeking unspecified damages to compensate for lost future wages, earning potential and emotional distress.
“We didn’t want to go this route; we tried to reach an accord,” said Denver attorney Matthew Groves. “We can’t get anyone who legitimately represents the school to sit down with us.”
The board of the charter school network fired the Hernandezes and Rincon late Oct. 2 after a lengthy meeting and following weeks of turmoil.
Among the allegations in the lawsuit:
— The Hernandezes are owed $80,000, money they pulled from their savings to start the schools that has never been repaid.
— The Hernandezes and Rincon are due the balance of their contracts through June 30, 2010, and they should receive six months of severance pay.
— Lawrence Hernandez, the chief executive officer, was allegedly battered and threatened on Sept. 24, when he was removed from the school.
— The Hernandezes were allegedly slandered when board President Dennis Feurstein called Lawrence Hernandez a “traitor” and that the couple were making the faculty “fearful and afraid.”
Groves said he was seeking to negotiate a settlement but received no response from the board or its representatives.
He set a deadline of 2 p.m. Thursday or would file the lawsuit, which he did.
Calls to Feuerstein and network attorney Dolores Atencio, who also was named in the suit, were not returned Thursday.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
