Instructor’s Lawsuit Over Phantom Students Dismissed

A Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by an auto shop instructor who claimed that El Camino College retaliated against him because of his allegations that he was asked to show students as enrolled but who had never been in his class.

Torrance Superior Court Judge Bob Hight threw out the case Monday, saying that Brian McMahon could not prove that the addition of a few extra students from 1989 to 1991 made the state give extra money to the Torrance school.

In a lawsuit filed in 1993, McMahon said he was directed by several administrators to give passing grades to phantom students who were either not enrolled or never showed up for his class after registering so that the college could show higher attendance for funding purposes. When he revealed the activity, he said, his one-year sabbatical to study law was taken away.

Enrollment at El Camino College has fallen in the past 15 years from about 30,000 to 22,000 students. McMahon maintained that adding phantom students to class rolls was common in vocational classes.