Lehighton Area School District’s board of directors issued a public censure to one of its own Monday night.

By a 5-4 vote, the board took the action against member David Bradley Sr. for “failure to meet the expectations of a school director as set forth in its policies and the generally recognized school board members Code of Ethics.”

It came upon the recommendation of tabbed Bethlehem law firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund and Faul LLC, which the district tabbed in November as special counsel to deal with legal matters stemming from Bradley’s numerous Right To Know requests.

Censure amounts to a formal reprimand, but carries with it no fine or suspension of rights as an elected official.

“It appears obvious that Mr. Bradley has used the judicial system, the Right To Know Law, the Sunshine Law and his official position for purposes other than for what they were intended,” KingSpry attorney John Freund wrote in a letter dated Jan. 23. “It is natural for the board to wish to curb these difficulties and move forward in a more productive manner.”

Bradley called Freund’s letter “full of politically motivated attacks and false statements.”

“It is a fight against transparency,” Bradley wrote in response. “This letter is John’s unsworn testimony, complete with plausible deniability. This letter was written to silence a director. It is laced with lies and half-truths.”

Legal issues

KingSpry indicated it had considered several legal actions to recommend to the district including Abuse of Process and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress lawsuits.

“Proof of intention, however, becomes a more complex and uncertain proposition,” Freund wrote in the letter. “Added to that uncertainty is a profound reluctance on the part of the courts to get involved in the politics of local government. Courts are likely to default to the ballot box rather than award damages or issue injunctions unless proof is clear, convincing and damages are real.”

Given that, KingSpry did not recommend filing any legal action against Bradley at this time.

“There is never a guarantee in such an endeavor, which must be considered along with the cost of litigation as well as the potential for alternative courses of action,” Freund wrote.

In his response to the KingSpry letter, Bradley accused the board, in particular directors Stern, Wayne Wentz, Andrew Yenser, Rita Spinelli and Stephen Holland of “acting like a fascist regime.”

“The government,” Bradley continued, “does not have the authority to silence an elected official or an American citizen. These fascist actors will still have the responsibility to comply with the law, provide due process, host official meetings and listen to the people.”

Charges

Freund’s letter cited numerous reasons for making the censure recommendation including charging Bradley with having:

• Filed three baseless civil actions against the district costing the district $33,436 as of the Jan. 23 letter.

• Filed two baseless private criminal complaints. The Pennsylvania Attorney’s General Office investigated and declined to prosecute a complaint against board President Larry Stern. The second complaint, according to KingSpry, is likely to be dismissed as the district can’t be criminally charged.

• Misused the Right To Know process.

• Made multiple requests and failed to pay the $400 fee for copies made in response to them.

• Used student and staff names or described events to such an extent that individuals can be identified.

• Harassed a female district employee, who has filed a harassment complaint with the district

• Lodged unfounded accusations against school administrators of doing strip searches in public when he knows the district can’t breach student privacy and explain what actually happened.

• Improperly accused a staff member of getting stimulated when he conducts searches of male students, and posted sexually explicit pictures on Facebook.

• Made defamatory claims that the board falsified its minutes for the August 2018 board meeting.

History

Bradley requested emails from May 25 to July 10 for Sue Howland, high school principal; David Hauser, assistant high school principal; and Jonathan Cleaver, superintendent.

Lehighton’s information technology department compiled the statistics for the emails requested. During the time period, Howland sent or received 2,354 emails, Hauser 1,864 emails and Cleaver 3,490 emails.

Carbon County Judge Roger Nanovic ruled earlier this month that the district did not have to turn over the emails, saying the subject matter of the request was “notably absent.”

Bradley withdrew a complaint he filed in September alleging Sunshine Act violations against the district. He argued a citizen, Tom Wertman, was prevented from speaking before an official action was taken.

In yet another lawsuit, Nanovic ruled he would not remove Larry Stern from office, as requested by Bradley and residents Frances Flickinger and Janice Bowman. The trio alleges Stern called for an official vote on a nonagenda item on Dec. 4, 2017, “without calling on Bowman or Flickinger, who had their hands raised.” They also allege Stern refused to allow public comment at a Dec. 21, 2017, meeting.

Bradley also requested all emails from five other board members and two administrators from Aug. 29 through Sept. 3. The board members are Wayne Wentz, Larry Stern, Andrew Yenser, Stephen Holland and Rita Spinelli, while the administrators are Cleaver and Assistant to the Superintendent Tim Tkach.

Two of the emails turned over to Bradley were redacted. The district said one email contained medical information, while the second contained personal identification information and the address of a minor.

The Office of Open Records ruled the district did not prove that one of the redacted emails contained medical information. It ordered the district to turn over that particular record, unredacted.

Lehighton appealed to Carbon County Court, where a hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12.

Bradley is also actively barred from the district’s high school and administration building, with the exception of attending a school board function or preapproved meeting, after two alleged incidents in the district.

See the recording of the meeting on the Times News Facebook page.