UPDATE: The Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney responded to The Union’s request to know whether or not criminal charges had been filed against former career and technical education teacher Lance Brookner. Their response stated that “the matter has been rejected due to
insufficient evidence.”
Former career and technical education teacher Lance Brookner was sent a proposed Statement of Charges and Notice of Unpaid Suspension and Recommendation for Dismissal from MUSD, according to a letter written by Assistant Superintendent of Human Relations Jonathon Brunson to Brookner on Sept. 29, 2022. The proposed charges against Brookner were immoral conduct, egregious misconduct, evident unfitness for service, and violation of school laws, according to the Statement of Charges. The letter, Statement of Charges, and several other documents were obtained by The Union through a public records request to MUSD.
“These charges arise from your nonconsensual and unlawful touching of multiple female students in your classroom and inappropriate, sexual harassment type comments to multiple female students,” Brunson wrote in the Statement of Charges against Brookner.
A supplement to an incident re- port filed by Officer Mostafa Asefi of the Milpitas Police Department on Aug. 22, 2022, requested a complaint against Brookner for penal code offenses 243.3(A), sexual battery, and 647.6(A), annoying and molesting a minor. According to California Penal Code 243.3(A), “Any person who touches an intimate part of another person while that person is unlawfully restrained by the accused or an accomplice, and if the touching is against the will of the person touched and is for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse, is guilty of sexual battery.” The police incident report was obtained by The Union through a public records request to the City of Milpitas.
“On 08-22-22, at approximately 1422 hours I respond to the Milpitas Police Department for a report of an inappropriate touching of a juvenile student,” Officer Asefi wrote in the police incident report.
The victim looked shaken and afraid, Asefi noted in the police incident report.
According to a resignation agreement between Brookner and the District, “The Parties desire to avoid the time and expense attendant upon further administrative and/or civil litigation and to settle, once and forever, all disputes arising out of, related to, or in any manner connected with Employee’s employment with the District.” Brookner signed the agreement on Nov. 1, 2022, and his resignation became effective on Dec. 31, 2022, according to the document.
Brookner was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 23, 2022, and suspended without pay on Sep. 29, 2022, according to letters sent by Brunson to Brookner.
Brookner denied touching the student in the manner she reported in an in-person interview with a district official on Sep. 19, 2022, according to the Statement of Charges.
In a previous incident, another student reported to former Principal Francis Rojas that Brookner touched her inappropriately on June 1, 2022, according to the Statement of Charges. Brookner denied touching the student in the way she described during his interview with the district official, according to the Statement of Charges.
“I, like many students, had to stick around in his class and experience situations such as this,” the student wrote in an email to Rojas on June 18, 2022, regarding the June 1 allegation. “We don’t want this to happen to other students ever again or for this to happen in the upcoming school year. Please do something about this.”
Rojas indicated that the District would investigate Brookner’s conduct regarding this allegation, but the investigation was delayed because of summer break, according to the Statement of Charges.
Additionally, in a Letter of Warning dated April 20, 2022, Rojas wrote to Brookner that multiple students had reported that he had shared an inappropriate story of sexual nature with students in his class on April 7, 2022.
“Since this interaction can be considered sexual harassment, administration will continue to investigate and inform you of further action if needed,” Rojas wrote in the letter.
According to Brookner’s resignation agreement, “If anyone contacts the District about Employee for purposes of a reference for the Employee’s prospective employment with a third party … the District shall provide only the following information: Employee’s dates of employment, final salary, positions held, sick leave balance, and the fact that the Employee resigned. … It is the intent of the parties that communication to anyone who makes such a prospective employment inquiry will not contain any negative information or negative inference about Employee.”
The Union attempted to contact Brookner but was unsuccessful. Gross, Draeger, and Rojas declined to be interviewed for this story.
As of the date of publication of this story, Brookner still has a valid teaching credential, according to the website of the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing.