Marlboro principal sues school district

Walsh seeks re-instatement as elementary school principal

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 2/15/23

On February 2, Marlboro Elementary School Principal Patricia Walsh, as Petitioner, filed a lawsuit against the Marlboro School District, the Marlboro Board of Education, Superintendent Michael Rydell …

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Marlboro principal sues school district

Walsh seeks re-instatement as elementary school principal

Posted

On February 2, Marlboro Elementary School Principal Patricia Walsh, as Petitioner, filed a lawsuit against the Marlboro School District, the Marlboro Board of Education, Superintendent Michael Rydell and Elementary School Principal Jena Thomas as Respondents.

Walsh is being represented by attorney Arthur P. Scheuermann, of the School Administrators Association of New York State.

Walsh, who is seeking a judgment pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, cites the Respondents for their “improper actions” in violation of her “constitutional and statutory due process rights relative to her status as a tenured elementary principal [Education Law sec. 3012].”

In the lawsuit’s Preliminary Statement, Scheuermann stipulates that the Respondents’, “actions lack any factual justification or legal merit and are arbitrary, capricious, irrational and contrary to Education Law and Ms. Walsh’s constitutional rights” Scheuermann is seeking her immediate reinstatement as the Elementary School Principal.

Scheuermann also noted that the Respondent’s actions, “are irreparably harming Ms. Walsh’s professional name and reputation by denying her the opportunity to defend herself in accordance with due process under the Constitution of New York State and the United States, as well as NYS Education Law.”

The lawsuit includes Jena Thomas, who was hired as the Elementary School Principal by the School Board as Walsh was put on Administrative Leave, because Thomas’ “employment rights may be affected by a determination in this action.”

Walsh began teaching in the Marlboro School district in 1997; became an Elementary School Principal in 2006 and on May 21, 2009 was awarded tenure by the school board, effective July 31, 2009. During those years, she served as principal of Middle Hope and Milton Elementary Schools, both of which have been shuttered.

Walsh was laid off in 2013 for three years during a difficult financial period for the district, accepting a position as principal of Most Precious Blood Parochial School in Walden. She was rehired by the Marlboro School District in 2016, as principal of Marlboro Elementary School.

On May 26, 2022 Walsh received a letter from former Superintendent Michael Brooks directing her to meet with him the following day, stating that he would be speaking with her on an important matter, “As this may lead to disciplinary action, you may have a union representative at this meeting,” he wrote.

On May 27, 2002, Walsh received a letter from the “Respondents” stating that she was being put on Administrative Leave, effective immediately.

On September 22, 2022 Respondents sent another letter to Walsh stating that she should report to work in the District’s Central Office and would be informed by Superintendent Rydell on her exact assignment.

Scheuermann stated that, “at no point during the time Ms. Walsh was placed on Administrative Leave, between May 27, 2022 to October 3 of 2022, was Ms. Walsh ever served with charges pursuant to Education Law sec. 3020 (a) nor has the school district taken any other formal action against Petitioner [Walsh].”

Scheuermann noted that at an October 3, 2022 meeting, Superintendent Rydell informed Walsh, “that Respondents had unilaterally determined that Ms. Walsh was no longer going to serve in her tenured position as the Elementary School Principal, but would instead serve in a quasi-administrative capacity from the Central Office.” Walsh was to perform largely ministerial tasks, something that is typically assigned to teachers, “to be conducted in a storage room, away from her elementary school office and building in an effort to subject Ms. Walsh to an unbearable environment.”

Scheuermann pointed out that his client has never waived, relinquished or forfeited her tenure rights, pursuant to Education Law sec. 3012 and that the Respondents did not have the authority to remove his client from her tenured position and reassign her to another position. The attorney also stated that Walsh is no longer listed as the Elementary School Principal on the NYS Education Department’s Basic Education Data System. He wrote that, “Ms. Walsh has a vested property right to her tenured position as Elementary School Principal, both from constitutional and statutory perspective...Ms. Walsh therefore brings this action seeking recourse.” He added that due to Ms. Walsh’s working conditions her “damages are continuing and ongoing.”

Scheuermann concluded by stating that not only should his client be reinstated to her tenured position but that the court grant her reasonable legal fees to be paid for by the school district, “and for such other and further relief that the Court deems just and proper.”

Phone calls seeking comment on the lawsuit were made to Patricia Walsh, attorney Arthur P. Scheuermann and Marlboro Superintendent Michael Rydell. No phone calls were returned.