Crews sues Chico schools

Tim Crews, editor and publisher of the Sacramento Valley Mirror, in Willows, has filed a petition for a writ of mandate against the Chico Unified School District. The suit charges that, when Crews sought certain records from the district under terms of the California Public Records Act, the district violated the law in numerous ways, including saying records did not exist when it knew they did exist and failing to respond appropriately to the requests.

The suit asks the court to demand that the district provide the records or, when records are withheld, provide legal justification and the names of parties responsible for withholding them. It also asks that the district’s policies and procedures for handling records requests be revised and that employees be trained in their implementation. And it asks that the district pay Crews’ attorney’s fees.

Crews’ records requests grew out of his interest in the controversy surrounding the demotion of former Marsh Junior High School Principal Jeff Sloan. At CN&R press time, the district had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit.