Suits, charges detailed in hearing

Palmerton Area School District Superintendent Scot Engler finished outlining dismissal charges against the district’s high school principal during the resumption of a termination hearing Wednesday night.

Over the course of three hours, Engler said Paula Husar “mishandled the response to sexual misconduct by an athletic coach, failed to timely issue a student parking directive, logged a student discipline matter after the student graduated, made continued unannounced appearances in a teacher’s classroom without explanation and failed to properly investigate a bullying incident that led to a human relations lawsuit filed by a parent.”

Husar has been on unpaid leave since district administrators escorted her out of the high school in September 2017. Engler recommended her dismissal based on more than 20 charges.

Following the termination hearing, Palmerton’s school board will decide whether or not to uphold Engler’s recommendation.

Grooming investigation

Wednesday’s testimony kicked off with Engler describing an email sent by a student who had been groomed by an athletic coach. Palmerton notified the authorities and dismissed the coach, Engler said.

According to Engler, the student sent similar emails to him and Husar, apologizing as if the student had done something wrong.

Husar replied to the student, stating she hadn’t been made aware of the incident, but that “we’re all human and mistakes happen,” Engler testified.

“To acknowledge and accept an apology for being victimized and groomed for sexual misconduct is awful,” Engler said of Husar’s reply. “It is certainly not something anyone would need to apologize for. It was absolutely not handled properly.”

Engler said he met with the student and guidance counselors in the district, “so we weren’t just letting the student think they had something to apologize for.”

Parking directive

Engler said Husar was made aware at a safety meeting on July 27, 2017, that only seniors would be allowed to park at the high school during the 2017-18 school year due to the ongoing construction project on the campus.

Carbon Career and Technical Institute opened on a Thursday, several days before Palmerton, in the fall of 2017.

Ultimately, Engler testified, Husar sent an “AlertNow” message to students the day before school started at CCTI indicating that “as of Monday” only seniors would be able to park at the high school.

“We experienced parking issues throughout the whole year,” Engler said. “It was very difficult for us to rein in because it was not handled appropriately and in a timely manner.”

Discipline log

Questions turned to an alleged incident on a school field trip.

According to Engler, a student was found with chewing tobacco on a field trip in September 2016.

The incident, he said, was not logged into a district database until July 3, 2017, nearly a month after the student graduated.

“Mrs. Husar received a write-up over the incident,” Engler said. “She also returned the tobacco to the student. Our SafeSchools report had to be revised because this incident was not logged in a timely manner.”

Teacher observation

After speaking with a high school math teacher about time off for a family medical situation, Engler said he encountered a student in the hallway who expressed concern for the teacher.

“I’m worried Mrs. Husar will try to fire her,” Engler described the student as saying.

Engler said the student noted Mrs. Husar’s “frequent unannounced visits to the classroom.”

“When I questioned the teacher, she showed me a plan book with all of the dates Mrs. Husar had come to her room and stood in the back, sometimes multiple times a day,” Engler said. “It occurred 21 times over 12 days. The teacher called it painfully uncomfortable.”

Discussion on personnel file

While going over Husar’s personnel file, Engler accused her of:

• “Misrepresenting the high school librarian’s workload.”

• “Misrepresenting the amount of students who could attend Aevidum training at Lehighton Area High School”

• “Calling a former employee a scumbag for leaving the district.”

• “Conjuring up stories to create internal strife among the administrative team.”

• “Fabricating an order from a district magistrate for a special education student.”

• “Directing an employee to drive to the junior high principal’s house because she believed a secret meeting was taking place.”

• “Sharing her evaluation with a community member, violating board policy.”

• “Holding two separate teacher appreciation week events including one with shrimp scampi and vodka sauce, which the district had to pay for.”

Other charges

The final three charges described by Engler Wednesday included “failure to report to the district office to turn in district property after the recommendation for termination, initial noncompliance with the district’s policy for field trip requests and the bullying investigation.”

According to Engler, three administrators had to escort Husar out of the high school in September 2017.

Multiple field trip requests, he added, were returned to Husar because of an insufficient number of chaperones.

As for the bullying incident, Engler said Husar never informed him of it.

“It led to a parent seeking damages from the district,” he testified. “The fact I was not informed was also problematic. Had I been informed, I would have been able to assist with making sure we were handling things appropriately.”

The case is still pending, he added.

Husar’s side

Husar filed a lawsuit in Carbon County Court in November 2016, alleging negligence and breach of contract after she received 1.15 points on her year-end evaluation and an “unsatisfactory performance rating.”

In November 2016, Husar also filed a gender discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, age discrimination and retaliation claim against the district and Engler before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

In April, she followed up with a federal lawsuit after receiving the three-day suspension, one day after oral arguments in the Carbon County lawsuit.

According to Husar, her initial legal action stems from an interview with board members regarding the job performance of Engler, whose contract was being considered for renewal.

After Husar’s comments about Engler’s job performance were revealed, her attorneys argued, “she faced harassing, hostile and discriminatory comments.”

Engler and the district denied claims of retaliation against Husar in a document filed in July in U.S. Middle District Court.

The lawsuit remains active.

What’s next

With direct testimony completed, Husar’s attorney Mark Bufalino will get his crack at questioning Engler during cross-examination.

Hearing officer Robert Yurchak set the next two hearing dates for Sept. 24 and Sept. 27.

Both hearings will start at 6 p.m. at the district administration building.