For the third time in 15 years, a former Franklin High School teacher has filed a lawsuit against the district.
Marcy Brown, formerly Marcy Lusher, filed the suit this week in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania against the district, superintendent Eugene Thomas and high school co-principals Thomas Holoman and Kris Miller.
The lawsuit claims Brown was subjected to age discrimination, a hostile work environment, unlawful termination, constructive discharge and retaliation.
Previous lawsuits
The new lawsuit refers to the two previous lawsuits, which were settled in 2012 and 2014 with the school district’s agreement to pay Brown, whose last name at that time was Lusher, $25,000 and $30,000, respectively, to settle the suits and several charges of discrimination.
The previous suits claimed Brown had experienced gender discrimination and a hostile work environment and had suffered retaliation for her complaints.
The agreement documents noted that the district’s agreement to the settlements weren’t to be construed as an acknowledgement of fault or wrongdoing by the district or its representatives.
New lawsuit
The new lawsuit alleges that on Oct. 24, 2022, Brown was placed on paid administrative leave for “serious allegations” that had been made against her, the substance of which wasn’t told to her prior to her being placed on leave.
In the hours after a hearing for Brown on Nov. 15, the lawsuit alleges Thomas told Brown her leave was being changed from paid to unpaid, but information requested the next day by the teachers union as to why the change was made wasn’t provided.
In a letter postmarked Nov. 7, 2022, Brown was told that a Title IX investigation was being opened against her.
On Dec. 7, 2022, Brown denied the allegations of misconduct made against her and requested the dismissal of the Title IX complaint.
The lawsuit says that in letters dated Jan. 3, 2023, CYS determined the three allegations it was investigating to be unfounded.
Those allegations were still included in the list of charges in the Jan. 10, 2023, initial Title IX determination, which found Brown responsible for all charges, although several were not supported by any evidence the district had provided to Brown, the lawsuit says.
The suit alleges that during the course of these events and in part due to actions taken by the school district, rumors circulated throughout the community, and as a result, Brown’s reputation in the community was “severely damaged.”
On two separate occasions in November, the district’s labor attorney, Robert Zaruta of the Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett firm in Erie, contacted Brown’s union attorney and offered a separation agreement in exchange for Brown’s resignation and release of claims, which Brown refused both times.
On Jan. 27, 2023, Zaruta sent an email to Brown’s attorney saying a special school board meeting would be held for the purpose of approving the list of charges against her and that the full list prepared by Thomas would be posted on the school district’s website 24 hours prior to the meeting unless Brown resigned, according to the lawsuit.
To prevent what she felt would be further damage to her reputation by the posting of charges online, Brown tendered her “involuntary resignation” Jan. 31, which the suit alleges was “the product of extortion that left her no viable alternative” and was thus effectively a termination.
The resignation was approved by the Franklin school board at a special meeting Feb. 2. At the time she was placed on unpaid leave, Brown was nine days short of 25 years of service, the lawsuit says.
The suit also alleges that multiple statements were made between 2021 and 2023 by district administrators indicating they thought older teachers should retire.
The lawsuit describes the actions by the school district, which the suit alleges created a hostile environment because of Brown’s age, as retaliation against Brown because of her former complaints.
The newspaper tried to reach Thomas and Zaruta for comments Friday, but telephone calls weren’t returned.
