ANAHEIM : Trustee Drops Suit Against Parent Group

A trustee of the Anaheim Union High School District dropped her lawsuit Wednesday against a parents group she said had harassed her for refusing to remove two novels from English literature classes in local high schools.

R.A. (Molly) McGee, who also teaches at Crystal Cathedral Academy in Garden Grove, had contended that members of a group called Citizens for Better Schools made threatening phone calls to her at home and at work. Additionally, she alleged that the group tried to besmirch her reputation and question her morality.

Two weeks ago, a Superior Court judge refused to grant McGee a temporary restraining order against the group because he said there was insufficient evidence that the parents were behind the harassing phone calls. A hearing had been scheduled for today on further arguments in the case, but that has been canceled.

“The harassment has continued, but the proof problem is still the same,” said Patrick Dolan, McGee’s attorney. “I have no idea who else would be doing this. Unfortunately, we can’t prove it right now.”

Treva Brown, president of the parents group, said she was pleased that the suit was dropped.

“I think I deserve an apology and a retraction of everything that she said,” Brown said. “She made some very serious charges, and none of it was true. I did not harass her. I did nothing. Who’s being harassed here? I was being hauled into court on false charges. That’s harassment.”

McGee contended in her suit that she was singled out by the group because she refused to remove the books “Ordinary People” and “The Great Santini” from the reading list in literature classes.

The group, which continues to protest the use of those books, maintains that the books contain pornographic references and should not be required reading.

The Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees disagreed, voting 4 to 1 in September not to remove the books from classrooms.