Two former Poway High School students were awarded $300,000 by a San Diego Superior Court on June 8 after a 12-member jury deliberated for over a week to determine whether the students were harassed by their classmates because they are gay, and whether the Poway Unified School District failed to take measures to stop the harassment in an immediate and appropriate way.

After the five-week trial, Joseph “Joey” Ramelli was awarded $175,000 while Megan Donovan received $125,000. The students originally sued for $225,000 each.

“These young people were believed. These jurors believed what happened. That kind of vindication is worth more than money can buy,” Bridget Wilson, Donovan and Ramelli’s attorney, told the Gay & Lesbian Times following the verdict.

Ramelli and Donovan, both 19 and currently Palomar College students, attended Poway High from 2000 to 2003, but, according to their lawsuit, spent their senior year in New Directions, a home-schooling program, due to their negative experiences on campus. Donovan and Ramelli graduated the program in 2004.

The pair felt they were in danger both physically and emotionally if they were to continue attending Poway High, Wilson wrote in a trial briefing. She said the problems began their freshman year and extended into their junior year.

In April, Ramelli testified in a San Diego Superior Court that he had been harassed and teased about his sexual orientation since he was a freshman. Students repeatedly called him names, threw food and spit on him, vandalized his car and shoved him in the hallways, he said. Wilson wrote in the trial briefing that students put a sign on his back that read “I Am A Fag – Kick My Ass.”

“These kids lost something, but most of all, every day someone called Joey a fag – virtually every day – and [for school officials] not to see that as a problem is very frustrating,” Wilson said. “We hope this kind of verdict delivers the message that they do have to listen, because they have to pay attention and they have to act.”

Donovan testified she had been mistreated and denied a position on the girls’ varsity softball team because she is a lesbian. She told the court that during her stint on the junior varsity softball team, she felt uncomfortable when other players learned she was a lesbian. She said she complained to the coach but the treatment continued.

According to Wilson’s trial brief, at least one other player said she would no longer play if there was a lesbian on the team. Donovan did not make the varsity team during her junior year when she tried out for it.

The jury did not find that Donovan was discriminated against in regards to the softball team.

The students’ lawsuit also claimed Poway administrators had encouraged both students to leave the school to participate in the New Directions program, depriving them of a typical high school experience. Wilson said many of the abusive incidences were reported to school administrators, but they were unresponsive. Donovan and Ramelli were in fact blamed for them while Ramelli was accused of overreacting to the abuse, she said.

When the jury announced their verdict, Wilson said she had no idea what the jury was going to decide since they were in deliberation for so long.

“We hope that it will wake up the administrators and the school board from Poway Unified. I sure hope it sends that message to them, that they can’t just ignore this kind of stuff,” she said.

Poway Superintendent Don Phillips was one of three administrators named in the lawsuit, along with Principal Scott Fisher and Assistant Principal Ed Giles. Phillips released a statement on behalf of Poway Unified School District emphasizing that the jury did not find the school and its employees liable for any discrimination.

“We are heartened that the jury found unanimously that there was no discrimination on the part of the district or any of its employees,” Phillips said. “There were legal questions raised during the course of this trial that I understand were debated at length before the court. The judge struggled with these issues. The jury also obviously struggled with these legal issues during their seven-day deliberation.”

Phillips still believes the school acted appropriately in handling Donovan and Ramelli’s complaints.

“This district is committed to tolerance and respect for all members of our community. I believe the effort by our staff to provide support for these two students was significant,” he said.

Phillips also noted that Poway’s legal defense team at Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz recommended the case be reviewed by the state’s Court of Appeals. He said the school board would decide whether or not they would appeal. Their next meeting is June 27.

Wilson said that they had no intention of bringing the case before a trial and jury.

“It was one of those things where it’s been hard for us to understand why they haven’t settled the case,” she said. “They [Poway Unified School District] will not admit they’ve done anything wrong. I think today they don’t believe they’ve done anything wrong.”

Wilson explained that California Education Code Section 200, which references hate crimes, was the focus of the case.

“This is really about the affirmative duty that California law places on these schools to affirmatively combat bias,” she said. “Whether the religious right likes it or not, sexual orientation is a protected class along with race and sex and nationality and religion under California law, and these kids are entitled to have a safe school environment.”

Wilson said another former Poway student and his mother delivered one of the most vital testimonies in the trial. Prior to Donovan and Ramelli’s complaints, the student and mother tried to get the attention of school officials concerning abuse from other students, but received a similar response from Poway administrators. The student felt he was forced to leave Poway High, and eventually graduated through the New Directions program.