Former football coach files lawsuit against Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District

Jason Pertzborn, the former head coach of Middleton High School’s football team, filed a lawsuit against the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District on Monday, claiming he was intimidated into signing an agreement to leave.

Shannon Valladolid, the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District’s director of information and public relations, on Wednesday issued a statement from the district responding to Pertzborn’s allegations and lawsuit. In it, the district disputed the former coach’s claim that he was forced to step down from the program. The district also said Pertzborn’s lawsuit, and a Notice of Claim included with it, made false allegations about the district’s students, staff and board members.

Pertzborn, who was also a Business Education teacher at MHS, resigned from that position, as well, on Jan. 26, 2023 amidst a locker room bullying scandal within the football program.

The victim in the case reported multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment. The Middleton Police Department concluded their investigation in Feb., 2023, and no arrests were made.

Pertzborn contends that the district’s actions violated both his contractual and legal employment rights. The lawsuit further asserts that the firing process was influenced by factors unrelated to his performance as a coach, creating an unfair and discriminatory environment. 

The lawsuit alleges that the district “needed a fall guy to cover up the fact that the district ignored prior concerns for the safety of students in the locker rooms expressed by staff members dating back to at least December of 2020.”

The lawsuit also says “the Middleton Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the District's own Title IX investigative report cleared Mr. Pertzborn of any wrongdoing. Despite this, district officials have continued to make statements about Mr. Pertzborn that are false, defamatory and which constitute a breach of the agreement.”

The school district’s response called Pertzborn’s accusations “false and defamatory.”

“The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District was made aware yesterday, September 10, 2024, that Jason Pertzborn filed a lawsuit against the District in Dane County Circuit Court,” said the statement issued by Valladolid. “The complaint includes the Notice of Claim that Mr. Pertzborn’s attorney served on the District on April 1, 2024. We were disappointed to read Mr. Pertzborn’s complaint and disheartened to learn that he chose to include the Notice, which includes untruthful statements about the District’s students, staff, and Board members, in his court filing.”

“The allegations set forth in the complaint and Notice are without basis in fact or law and contain numerous falsehoods and inaccurate information,” the district’s statement continued. “Among those inaccuracies is that Mr. Pertzborn was forced to resign his employment. Mr. Pertzborn was given the option of resigning his employment and did so after consulting with his own legal counsel.”

“Throughout the investigation of the underlying facts that led to Mr. Pertzborn’s resignation, the District was diligent in responding to concerns of which it was aware, conducting thorough investigations, and taking necessary actions in the best interests of the students, staff, and District, as a whole,” the statement continued. “The District does not intend to respond to all of the allegations set forth in the complaint or Notice at this time. However, the District denies that it acted improperly with respect to Mr. Pertzborn at any time before, at the time, and after he voluntarily resigned. Accordingly, the District will vigorously defend the lawsuit, as well as consider all legal remedies available to the District in response to the false and defamatory allegations made by Mr. Pertzborn in his complaint and the Notice, and in prior unauthorized communications regarding the District, its students, staff, and Board members.”

Pertzborn served as Middleton’s co-head coach with Tim Simon in 2018, then took over the program in 2019.

Over the next four seasons, Pertzborn’s teams went 26-14 (.650) and extended their streak of playoff appearances to 26 consecutive years — which tied for the longest in Division 1 with Hartland Arrowhead. He is a 1990 Middleton High School graduate and was a standout football and baseball player at MHS. He was also part of Middleton’s 1987 state football championship team — the last group of Cardinals to hoist a gold ball.

Pertzborn played baseball for three years at UW-Stevens Point and graduated from there with a business degree in 1995. He later added a teaching degree from Concordia University.

Pertzborn’s first high school football coaching experience came at Madison West from 1998-2001. He was also the Regents’ offensive coordinator in both 2000 and 2001.Pertzborn joined Middleton’s staff in 2002 as a volunteer assistant at the sophomore level.

Pertzborn later served as the head sophomore coach for 10 seasons, then jumped to the varsity level in 2013 and became the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator. 

Editor's note: This article was written by Times-Tribune staff members Alec Finger, Rob Reischel and Matt Geiger.