Judge hears locked door evidence

The door providing access to the Palmerton Area School District administrative building was locked due to safety concerns following the start of a Jan. 31 dismissal hearing, the district’s superintendent testified Tuesday.

Paula Husar, the suspended high school principal and subject of the dismissal hearing, was in Carbon County Court for verbal arguments in her lawsuit against the district alleging she was denied her right to a public hearing.

Called to the stand, Superintendent Scot Engler said he requested facilities director Joseph Faenza lock the door at 6 p.m., the time the hearing was scheduled to begin, based on several security factors.

“During a previous hearing in the summer of 2017, it was extremely unruly and disorderly,” Engler said. “People were banging on windows and it was an unsafe environment.”

Engler also referenced a security study that determined the district would have trouble ensuring safety in the building because of the access points and age of the building.

“There were students in our SHINE program down on the bottom, floor and I did not want people to have access to that part of the building knowing how, in the summer, the hearing was disorderly. I asked the solicitor about locking the door and he said it could be done.”

Husar’s attorney Mark Bufalino argued that the district “transcended its bounds by locking the door.”

“I couldn’t find case law for a similar situation because nobody in the planet would have ever done what they did,” he added.

Suspended without pay since she was escorted out of the high school by district administrators in September, Husar opted for a public hearing in front of the school board after Engler recommended her dismissal based on more than 20 charges.

When the Jan. 31 concluded, the hearing was scheduled to continue Feb. 21, which is when Bufalino raised the locked door issue with hearing officer Robert Yurchak.

Yurchak gave Bufalino 10 days to submit a legal brief with his position and then afforded the district 10 days to respond. Bufalino submitted his legal brief to Yurchak on March 2, one day after he filed the county lawsuit.

Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic said absent Yurchak refusing to rule on whether the locked door constituted a public school code violation, he would not have jurisdiction on the request for mandamus, or a writ requiring a person or group to perform a public or statutory duty.

“To me, the hearing officer should make that ruling and you would have the option of an appeal if it went against you,” Nanovic told Bufalino.

Bufalino said Yurchak has failed to take action on his request for a decision.

“I came into the office one day to an email that said he would take no further action pending the outcome of this case we are arguing today,” Bufalino told the judge.

In addition to petitioning for a mandamus order, Husar, in her county lawsuit, alleges the district violated the state’s Sunshine Act.

“The decision on whether or not to retain the employee has to be made in public, no question, but the question is whether the Sunshine Act governs a public hearing,” Nanovic said.

“A meeting and a hearing are not interchangeable when it comes to the Sunshine Act.”

Mark Kozolwski, the attorney representing the district, argued that because the district did not make a decision on Jan. 31, it does not constitute a Sunshine Act violation.

“If they voted to fire her, I would argue I don’t have a leg to stand on,” Kozolwski said. “Does a hearing constitute the discussion of agency business? We would argue it does not.”

Husar and numerous board members testified there were no outbursts or safety concerns during the January hearing.

In other testimony, residents Anne Cronk and Serena Russo told the court they arrived after 6 p.m. to find the door to the building was locked. Both women said they signed affidavits stating as much.

The document was true, she said, with the exception that the full text of the sign was not part of the affidavit.

“I asked about it because I didn’t want to sign something false,” Cronk said. “I was told it was OK to sign because it was factual.”

The affidavit only made reference to the statement on the sign that said “the hearing was filled to capacity.”

According to evidence submitted as part of the case, the sign read, “capacity has been reached and/or the hearing has begun.”

According to testimony from Dan Heaney, Palmerton’s director of curriculum, instruction and technology, around 14 people other than board members and witnesses were present for the January hearing.

Several board members were called to testify including Sherry Haas who said she has never been part of a meeting or hearing that has “been unruly or that would require police.”

Director Tammy Recker said she does recall previous meetings where police were present.

Palmerton Borough Police Chief Randy Smith told the court he was not aware of any arrests stemming from the meeting.

Bufalino has asked the court to award relief to Husar, including an order invalidating the Jan. 31 hearing and direct the district to present all testimony at public hearings in accordance with code, and to direct that all proceedings relative to the termination charges be held at a neutral site.

Nanovic said he would review legal briefings and case law before rendering a ruling.