Local News in Brief : Preschool Owner Sues State for $40 Million

The owner of a Simi Valley preschool whose license to operate was temporarily suspended two weeks ago by the state’s Department of Social Services for alleged health and safety violations has filed a $40-million lawsuit against the state, claiming the charges are unwarranted.

Isobel Dickson, owner of Windsor Hall preschool, along with co-licensees Mary and Archer McArthur and John Dickson, filed the suit in Ventura County Municipal Court last week, according to Walter Urban, the preschool owner’s attorney.

The suit states that the school has lost money because of the closing and that Isobel Dickson and her staff’s reputations have been damaged by the state’s allegations.

Kathleen Norris, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, said the school’s license had been temporarily suspended following charges in February of several health violations, including mouse droppings in classrooms, urine on bathroom floors and old furniture dumped in the school play yard.

The school’s owners have one week left to respond to the charges, after which a state hearing could be conducted to determine if the school should be closed permanently, Norris said.

Urban said Thursday that the school has long since been “up to par” and that the closure is unnecessary and damaging to the school’s credibility.

Isobel Dickson was found guilty in March of one count of cruelty to children. She was found not guilty on five other counts, and another count was dismissed, said Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Dennis I. Floyd. She was sentenced to three years’ probation and fined $250.