Former Claremont High School social science teacher Dave Lukkarila was recently arrested for stalking, issuing threats, and making bothersome phone calls to CUSD personnel. Lukkarila was originally placed on paid administrative leave in late March 2013 due to complaints from some CHS staff. The arrest was made at his home on Thursday, April 16. Upon his arrest, he received a total of 13 counts, including two for the charge of felony stalking, two for the charge of felony criminal threats, and nine misdemeanor counts for making the calls, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Prior to these events, there was an incident in February 2012 involving black mold in a classroom near the one in which he taught. Lukkarila filed a complaint and in response, the district hired Infotox, an accredited inspection company, to investigate the claim. CUSD then hired air conditioning and roofing companies to fix the problems noted in the complaints, and the California Department of Education agreed that the issues had been resolved.

Despite this, Lukkarila felt the district had ignored several health issues, and continued to file grievances. Some of these protests included 11 complaints to the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), claiming that he was being punished by the district for being a “whistle-blower,” which is a person who reveals a wrongdoing in an organization to the public. He also filed seven more PERB charges against the Claremont Faculty Association (CFA), claiming they were not fairly representing him throughout the process. By late March of 2014, Lukkarila had been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and was facing dismissal by CUSD, in addition to a three-year restraining order requiring him to remain at least 200 feet away from any CUSD-owned building, including all schools.

Since 2012, Lukkarila has sent more than 300 emails to CUSD board members, CUSD staff, and the Claremont Courier, that stated his many complaints. The emails were met with little response until he sent one to CFA President Dave Chamberlain on May 26, 2014, attacking CUSD board member Sam Mowbray. The email was described as threatening by Mowbray and others, prompting CUSD Superintendent Jim Elsasser to issue a written statement, published by the Courier. The email was not deemed hostile by the Claremont Police Department (CPD), and Lukkarila apologized, but continued to air his grievances in phone calls and mass emails against a variety of organizations and specific people. On April 15, 2015, one day before his arrest, Lukkarila made a call to a CUSD administrator, which included what was classified as a felony criminal threat. District and CHS employees did not want to comment on the subject.

On April 20, Lukkarila was transferred from the CPD to the Los Angeles Superior Court for his arraignment. There, Lukkarila entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. Lukkarila remains on unpaid suspension, and was being held at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic until he posted his $1 million bail on May 2. Lukkarila is prohibited from contacting any CUSD employee.