Urgent Update for MMCA Families: Joint Lawsuit Filed to Protect Our School

October 29, 2026

Urgent Update for MMCA Families: Joint Lawsuit Filed to Protect Our School

October 29, 2026

Dear MMCA Families and Community,

Following the Rocklin City Council’s 3–2 vote to approve the 120-unit Sierra Wilds Apartments next to our campus, Maria Montessori Charter Academy (MMCA) and Urban Ethics Coalition have filed a joint lawsuit in Placer County Superior Court seeking to halt the project as approved.

We are asking the court to intervene before site grading begins to protect our students, preserve school operations, and uphold MMCA’s property and access rights.

Why We Are Taking Legal Action:

• Keeping Our School Operating: The church and developer are demanding that MMCA relocate underground utility lines at the school’s expense during this school year. These demands threaten essential services and could disrupt classroom instruction and campus operations.

• Protecting Student Health: The lawsuit challenges the accuracy and adequacy of the developer’s air quality and noise analyses. We contend that those analyses understate construction impacts on children and fail to adequately address the conditions immediately next to our classrooms and outdoor learning spaces.

• Addressing Development Along Our Campus: The proposed development would place four large apartment buildings directly beside our school on building pads at least six feet above our current fence line. One proposed building would extend from the area of our garden toward the preschool playground. The scale, elevation, and proximity of these buildings raise serious concerns about impacts on our youngest students and their learning environment.

• Preserving Campus Access: The lawsuit challenges changes to MMCA’s recorded access easement that would prevent large vehicles from reaching the interior campus. The approved plan also includes vehicle connections to the school owned driveway and shared use of school parking without MMCA’s consent. We are seeking to enforce the school’s recorded property rights and applicable Division of the State Architect requirements.

• Defending Our Garden Classroom: The lawsuit seeks to protect our 17 year old outdoor community garden classroom.

How You Can Help:

Challenging these approvals requires legal and technical resources beyond what our small school can shoulder alone. The Sierra Wilds Legal Defense Fund has been established to help cover ongoing legal representation, technical review, and environmental auditing.

Your 100% tax deductible contribution helps us pursue the protections our students and school deserve.

Donate: Support the Sierra Wilds Legal Defense Fund through 100% tax deductible donations to Urban Ethics Coalition’s GoFundMe campaign.

Share: Send the fundraiser to family, friends, neighbors, and local businesses who care about student safety and accountable local decision-making.

Learn More:

• Read our press release for additional details about the lawsuit.

• View our presentation explaining key student health concerns: 

Thank you for standing with us to protect our school, our children’s health, and their ability to learn in a safe, stable environment.

Sincerely,

Brent Boothby, MMCA Executive Director        

Ryan Leckey, MMCA Board of Directors President

Brandi Armstrong, Urban Ethics Coalition Founder & CEO OPS Board Director

Paul Brigaerts, Urban Ethics Coalition Founder and Security & Compliance Director