Fired teacher sues district

A former Plum teacher who was fired even though he successfully defended himself in court against allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female student is suing the school district in an attempt to publicly clear his name.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Mark C. Garvey said the Plum Borough School District terminated the former health teacher even though he was found not guilty of a harassment charge. The lawsuit also says the district did not hold a hearing for him — as is his right — to salvage his reputation in the public eye.

Mr. Garvey, of Buffalo Township in Butler County, taught at Plum Borough Senior High School for 13 years.

He was suspended for two days in October 2017 after being accused of “ogling female students’ breasts” during a “hops-in-place” class exercise, according to the lawsuit. He was reinstated after principal Justin Stephans and school resource Officer Joe Little found that he did nothing wrong, the lawsuit says.

In March 2018, Mr. Garvey was suspended again after allegations of child abuse were reported against him to the ChildLine service. The lawsuit says Mr. Garvey was not made aware of the specific charges until Officer Little filed a charge of harassment against him.

Mr. Garvey was found not guilty on the harassment charge at a summary trial in May before District Judge Linda Zucco.

After being exonerated, Mr. Garvey was never given the opportunity to meet with the principal to rebut the charges, and he learned that the district intended to suspend or terminate him unless he voluntarily retired, the lawsuit says.

The district suspended Mr. Garvey in June and fired him in July after making “vague” allegations about his conduct around female students that violated the district’s policy on “Maintaining Professional Adult/Student Boundaries,” the lawsuit says.

The district also did not provide Mr. Garvey with a chance to clear his name at a hearing — a right he claims he should have had — believing that the public would side with him, according to the lawsuit.

District officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.