Board member hopes for dismissal of lawsuit filed by ex-superintendent

A Moon Area school board member said he hopes a federal judge will dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2015 by former superintendentCurtis Baker.

“He’s[Mr. Baker] not showing up for depositions,” said school board member Mark Scappe, one of the defendants in the lawsuit Mr. Baker filed following his dismissal in 2015.

The five-count complaint filedby Mr. Baker alleges various violations, including breachof contract.

Mr. Baker also claimed he had been subjected to verbal abuse, sabotage of the district image and administrative performance, and micromanagement by board members. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well asattorney fees.

Hired in 2013 with a fouryear contract at an annual salary of $160,000, the board gave Mr.Baker a raise to $168,518 in 2015 retroactive to 2013-2014 schoolyear.

Mr. Baker was placed on administrative leave in December 2015, a month after a new majority was elected to theschool board.

Mr. Baker subsequently filed a federal lawsuit against the district and the board members who ousted him; Mr. Scappe, Gerald Testa, Michael Hauser, James A. Bogatay, Robert E. Harper, Lisa A. Wolowiczand Daniel Zieger.

Mr. Baker could not be reached for comment, but his attorney, Jason Pearlman of Bala Cynwyd, disputed Mr. Scappe’s assertion that his client is delaying the case. He noted that the attorney who filed the lawsuit for Mr. Baker died unexpectedly and a secondattorney asked to be taken offthe case in October.

Mr. Pearlman, now the lead attorney, said no depositionshave been taken since he tookover the case.

He said the district filed a motion seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed and Mr. Baker filed a response to that motion Feb. 26, also asking for oralarguments. The judge has not ruled on that motion, he said. “We are sitting back waiting to hear at this point,” Mr.Pearlman said.

Mr. Pearlman said the case goes beyond the termination. It also is about what has happened to Mr. Baker’s reputation because of the termination.

Mr. Baker also is mentioned unfavorably in a state audit performed by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale lastyear.

Mr. DePasquale called the actions of Mr. Baker and former members of the school board“alarming.”

Under their leadership, the district paid nearly $900,000 for construction change orders that remained unfinished, with insufficient paperwork,Mr. DePasquale said.

Mr. Baker told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last year he was “surprised and disappointed” that the audit was released since he was never contacted by the auditor general’s office to answer questions or provideinput.

“I’ve had no opportunity to address any of the issues or share my side of the story,” he saidin February 2017.

After leaving Moon Area, Mr. Baker became superintendent of the Wilson School District in Berks County. He resigned from that job about a weekafter the audit was made public.

The audit, which spanned July 2012 through June 2015, also shows the district spent an additional $450,000 in leave benefits for staff. That occurred during an extended winter break in 20152016, a break that was not authorized by the board.

No charges were filed in relation to the audit, but the district still is dealing with Mr. Baker’s lawsuit.

“He’s playing the legal system,” Mr. Scappe said. “We are hoping that the judge will dismiss the case.”