Castagna denies hurting image of West Mifflin

Hearing continues for superintendent

Testifying during a hearing before the West Mifflin Area School board, suspended Superintendent Daniel Castagna denied he damaged the district’s public image by filing a complaint against the board with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and for filing a court complaint against a board member.

He also refuted on Monday accusations that he verbally accosted a schoolboard member.

The board is holding the hearings under Section 1080 of the Pennsylvania School Code, which allows it to eventually vote to remove him from office — and void any buyout requirements. Mr. Castagna faces a number of accusations — including that he failed to notify district officials about a DUI charge, neglect of duties, incompetency and immorality under the Public School Code.

In 2017, Mr. Castagna filed an EEOC complain against the district and State Rep. Bill Kortz, D Dravosburg, claiming he was discriminated against for his Italian heritage and his age. In the filing, he also checked a box for “retaliation.”

“I meant political retaliation,” Mr. Castagna said after his attorney, Colleen Ramage Johnston asked why he checked the box.

At the hearing, Ms. Johnston showed screen shots of several social media posts, including one on Facebook, which Mr. Castagna said was made by then-board candidate David Marshall, who now is the board president, that was in support of Mr. Kortz.

“These were the political statements Mr. Marshall made on his Facebook page and others that showed his dislike of me because of my political affiliation,” Mr. Castagna said.

The post stated: “For some reason, the superintendent, who doesn’t live in his district, and his supporters are pushing a Republican.”

Krisha DiMascio, the school district’s attorney, objected to showing the posts saying they couldn’t be authenticated, but her objection was overruled by hearing officer Thomas Castello.

Mr. Castagna said he knew the post was referring to him “because I don’t live in the district and they were vocal about that often.” He added the “they” referred to Mr. Marshall, Nick Alexandroff and Erin O’Leary White, who all currently sit on school board.

Mr. Castagna said he was attacked because he was friends with Rod Salka, who ran against Mr. Kortz in for a state legislative seat in 2016.

Mr. Castagna said Mr. Kortz came to his office before the 2016 election to talk about Mr. Salka.

“He said ‘I want to talk to about your friend running against me,’” Mr. Castagna said.

After that meeting, Mr. Castagna said Mr. Marshall and Mr. Kortz began making comments in public, stating he was a political enemy to the district.

Mr. Castagna testified during cross-examination that he sent a text message to Mr. Kortz, asking him to stop making public statements about him regarding the election.

“He said I threatened him and I didn’t threaten him in a text,” he said. Mr. Kortz later sent Mr. Castagna a cease-and-desist letter after receiving the text.

Additionally, social media posts Mr. Castagna’s team said

were from Mr. Alexandroff’s Facebook page also were admitted to evidence.

The posts from 2016 stated: “We have a lack of leadership in West Mifflin. This will change in December. This is on (stet) school board. We will run this district again. No outsiders.”

“I was always seeing written statements that called myself and even (Assistant Superintendent) Dr. Hoover outsiders because we did not live in the district,” Mr. Castagna said.

Mr. Castagna said he filed the EEOC complaint, which was later dropped, “to protect my employment and to stop the political statements being made against me.” He testified he filed a civil complaint against Ms. White because of her “repeated behavior of leaks of confidentiality.”

He said the board and himself repeatedly requested, for a period of more than a year, that Ms. White cease discussing executive session matters in public.

“She took things out of executive session and took them to people not on the board and running for the board.” he said.

That complaint also was later dropped.

Mr. Castagna also denied that he verbally accosted then board member Ronald Rubinsak at a meeting in the district’s offices in September 2015.

Mr. Castagna said when the charge that he accosted an elected official were first made against him earlier this year, he had no idea who the district’s attorneys were talking about. He said he did not learn it was Mr. Rubinsak until after the 1080 hearing started in September.

Earlier this year, the board voted to put Mr. Castagna on paid administrative leave. In July, the board voted 6-3 to place him on unpaid leave.

Mr. Castagna has filed a federal lawsuit against the district and the six board members who voted to suspend him, saying he had been targeted because he reported wrongdoings by several district employees. A U.S. Districtmagistrate judge on Monday dismissed a motion by the school district to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The next public 1080 hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at West Mifflin Area Middle School.