Year in Review: Districts tied up in legal matters

Lehighton Area School District began 2018 with an eight-member board of directors, which deadlocked 4-4 on most key votes.

In March, Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic appointed a retired real estate agent, Rita Spinelli, to round out the group and fill a vacant two-year term.

“I was somewhat surprised, but very glad to find out,” Spinelli said of learning she received the appointment. “I’ve been an advocate for the district for a number of years and will continue to do that in this role. I’m going to do the best I possibly can.”

“My goal is to help keep the district running,” Spinelli said. “When I came on the board in the 1990s, it was at the tail end of a time when the group was also very divided, so I have that experience to draw on.”

Other candidates for the vacancy included Francis Flickinger, Richard D. Beltz, David Krause, Duane Eidem, Gloria Bowman, Nathan Foeller, Autumn Frey, Walter Zlomsowitch, Frank Tamburri and RoniSue Ahner.

4-hour meetings

Board meetings themselves started off with a lengthy bang. February’s voting session almost reached the four-hour mark.

Under the district’s policy, any board member can put a motion on the meeting agenda and a baker’s dozen submitted by director David Bradley Sr. were included in February.

The only motion to gain board approval was that the district acquire two independent appraisals before the sale of property. District officials said that is already required under school code.

The remainder of Bradley’s motions did not pass or were tabled with the majority ending in a 4-4 tie.

Among them were requests to issue rebate checks equal to 0.76 mills for the tax year 2017 and carry the tax decrease forward for the 2018 tax year, and have “school board formally apologize for the way it treated a decorated veteran at the meeting where Superintendent (Jonathan) Cleaver and then President Gloria Bowman apparently signaled a police officer to remove him from a meeting.”

As the year progressed, controversy continued, with Bradley barred from the district’s high school and administration building for a year, with the exception of attending a school board function or preapproved meeting, after two alleged incidents in the district.

According to an investigative report filed by Cleaver, a copy of which was posted on Facebook and circulated by Bradley before that Monday’s meeting, Bradley was accused of harassing/bullying a district employee on June 1.

“Mr. Bradley began to berate an employee over the fees associated with his Right To Know request,” Cleaver wrote in the report.

“He then claimed the employee was mishandling his requests, indicating she did not know her job duties and implied her job was in jeopardy. She was told she should seek advice on how to perform her duties. Mr. Bradley also threatened to subpoena the employee if she did not respond to emails he had sent her seeking documents. She refused to engage him in a discussion as his demeanor was threatening to the point of putting her in tears. She was emotionally and visibly upset after the encounter.”

A second incident, Cleaver wrote in his report, occurred June 7.

According to the report, Bradley and fellow director Joy Beers were present at a parent-principal/assistant principal meeting.

“This followed an incident earlier in the day dealing with student discipline and searches of other students that complied with both state and federal law,” Cleaver wrote.

During the meeting, the report continues, Bradley “accused an employee of being prejudiced. Mr. Bradley then stated that the employee gets excited when he conducted searches of the student’s person, implying a sexual inclination of the employee. Mr. Bradley also stated the employee was unethical and questioned his hiring as debate coach because he was a terrible debater. Again, his behavior and demeanor was threatening and put two district employees in physical fear. Both employees were emotionally upset after this encounter.”

Bradley denied the accusations and criticized the district for failing to interview additional witnesses.

“I was targeted as a means of public embarrassment,” Bradley said. “This investigation lacked due process. There is no proof of video, audio or additional testimony to back up the claims.”

One of the administrators involved in the second complaint, high school Assistant Principal Dave Hauser, later asked the district to clear him of any wrongdoing in his searches of students and for a formal apology from the school board.

“For the past six months, Bradley has lied to the parents, residents and students of this district from the pulpit of his elected position,” Hauser said earlier this month. “Bradley’s actions have led to personal and professional stress and continued harassment and embarrassment.”

According to Hauser, he did conduct searches of students based upon reasonable suspicion they possessed contraband items.

“My work was directly observed by the building principal and subsequently evaluated by the assistant superintendent, superintendent and solicitor,” Hauser said. “All found no wrongdoing and one described the searches as textbook.”

Email requests

Bradley filed a Right To Know request earlier this year, seeking around 7,700 emails from three Lehighton administrators, including Hauser, high school Principal Sue Howland, and Cleaver, from May 25 to July 10.

A legal battle over the release of those emails is currently before Carbon County Judge Roger Nanovic. During a court hearing, Bradley argued he is seeking “transparency in government.”

“The system within Lehighton Area School District for dealing with an RTK is broken,” he said.

“All of the efforts to improve transparency in the district have been met with major obstructionism.”

Bradley is involved in several other lawsuits against the district over alleged Sunshine Act and Right To Know Law violations.

Nanovic recently ruled he would not remove Larry Stern from office, as requested by Lehighton school board director David Bradley, and residents Frances Flickinger and Janice Bowman. The trio allege Stern called for an official vote on a nonagenda item on Dec. 4, 2017, “without calling on Bowman or Flickinger, who had their hands raised.” They also allege Stern refused to allow public comment at a Dec. 21, 2017, meeting.

“Neither the provisions of the Sunshine Act nor Section 5301 of the Crimes Code provide for removal as a sanction for a violation,” Nanovic wrote in his ruling.

Stern denied being aware Bowman and Flickinger sought to comment on the motion in question, a vote on filling a board vacancy that eventually deadlocked 4-4.

Nanovic left the door open for the trio to pursue further action on the Sunshine Act violation allegation, though it would not be in the civil court arena.

Instead, Nanovic said, that would be a matter to go before a magisterial district judge.

Bradley also filed a lawsuit stemming from an Aug. 27 meeting, when he said a citizen was prevented from speaking before an official action was taken.

“Larry Stern (Lehighton board president) allowed others to speak before the vote on the new motion, but specifically impeded, and prevented, Tom Wertman, a citizen and veteran, from speaking,” Bradley, who is representing himself, wrote in the complaint.

In early December, Nanovic gave Bradley 30 days to properly serve the district and Stern with the lawsuit to avoid it being dismissed.

Bradley filed a third lawsuit, centering on Cleaver’s contract, in November.