Nearly everyone was telling Manolo Lopez to settle, including a judge and his own attorney. But the 15-year Burbank High School auto shop teacher who became the target of a bullying principal says one supportive voice kept telling him to continue the fight to clear his name: CTA.

And after the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) accepted an administrative law judge’s recommendation in June, Lopez retained his teaching credential, turning the page on a difficult five-year chapter in Lopez’s life.

“There is definitely closure. There’s a lot of satisfaction and vindication,” Lopez says. “I feel very good about how CTA helped me, sending their attorneys and sticking with me until the end. From the beginning, Burbank Teachers Association was very supportive.”

The trouble started in 2014 when Lopez and his students were cleaning out the auto shop work area. Early on in the cleaning effort, the new principal walked in and angrily declared that the shop was “messy.” This was just the beginning of problems between the principal and Lopez, which culminated with the district accusing the dedicated educator of theft.

“It was pretty dramatic— a big slap in the face. But BTA and CTA were with me every step of the way.”

—Manolo Lopez

As in many high schools that have auto shop programs, there was a long-standing system in place at Burbank High where district employees could utilize the shop to have repairs and maintenance performed on their vehicles. Lopez, like his predecessors, would purchase parts through a school district account, fix the car, and then bill the employee to recoup the funds. Lopez had gotten behind on the billing in 2014 when his family had health issues, but was in the process of getting caught up when the district accused him of theft. “It was pretty dramatic — a big slap in the face,” says Lopez. “But BTA and CTA were with me every step of the way.”

Officials ran with the allegations, calling police and asking for a criminal investigation. But police said Lopez had not committed a crime and declined to intervene. While this would have been a good time for school district managers to back off, they instead doubled down on their egregious behavior. Arleigh Kidd, who was Lopez’s primary contact staff at the time, says it became clear the district would not stop trying to fire Lopez, so he filed a CTA Group Legal Services (GLS) referral. Proving Kidd’s suspicion true, district managers shortly thereafter illegally inserted a conference summary into Lopez’s personnel file without the knowledge of either Lopez or Kidd.

When Kidd filed a grievance to have it removed, the district agreed and settled the grievance. But the summary raised its ugly head again a short time later when Burbank Unified used it in a complaint to the CTC attempting to have Lopez’s credential stripped.

“I never expected anything like that happening to me. All my reviews had always been positive,” Lopez says. “I really loved teaching, so it was quite a shock.”

Eventually, the district settled with Lopez, compensating him for his losses and damages, and he resigned from Burbank Unified. The principal and district managers continued efforts to strip him of his credential. He was tired from all the stress, and many advised him to settle for the sake of his health. But after a conversation with his wife, Lopez decided to fight to clear his name.

“If you’re in the right, you don’t just take it,” he says. “Growing up as a Latino in Texas, I’ve been fighting all my life. I’ve been aware of prejudice and I’ve been subject to it, but I haven’t just taken it.”

In April , an administrative law judge sided with Lopez, finding that his transgressions merited an admonition, not credential revocation. And in July, the CTC adopted the judge’s findings completely, which finally ended the ordeal.

“CTA went above and beyond for me,” Lopez says. “Know that if you are right, CTA will stick with you.”

Sadly, after Lopez left Burbank High School, the district never hired a replacement to teach auto shop, according to Lori Adams, former Burbank Teachers Association president and current CTA staff. This meant as many as 180 auto shop students were pushed into art and cooking classes they didn’t want, leading to numerous issues for students and educators. One teacher resigned, another was written up after a fight broke out in her class, and a third was constantly harassed about grading in art class.

“It was a disaster after we lost auto shop,” Adams laments.

The bullying principal in question unexpectedly announced he was leaving Burbank High at the end of last school year, citing health concerns.

The Protection and Strength of CTA

Manolo Lopez says the support of CTA throughout his ordeal was invaluable and kept up his spirits when times were tough. He urges all CTA members to learn more about their local associations in case the unexpected happens.

“Be very familiar with your union representative. Always have them present at your meetings with administrators,” he says. “Be aware of your safety net. I had the principal lie right to my face, and my BTA rep was right there taking notes.”

Visit cta.org/legal for more information.