The attorney for suspended Palmerton Area High School Principal Paula Husar called a retired biology teacher, former guidance counselor and a Palmerton graduate to testify Monday during what was likely the penultimate night of her termination hearing in front of the school board.

Palmerton Superintendent Scot Engler recommended her dismissal on over 20 charges handed down in September 2017.

David Kellerman, a biology teacher who retired at the end of last school year after over 30 years in the district, spoke of a letter of recommendation he wrote for Husar and called her “the most visible principal” during his tenure in Palmerton.

“She was always walking down the halls at the end of the day, she didn’t hang out by the office,” Kellerman said. “Paula would wipe down tables in the cafeteria during almost every lunch duty. I could always count on her support if there was an issue with a student. We may not agree on the discipline, but you could always count on her to handle it the best she could.”

The letter of recommendation came from Kellerman in 2016.

He said Monday he assumed she was asking for it because she was looking for another job.

Husar’s attorney, Mark Bufalino, asked Kellerman to read the letter into the record.

“She was a welcome addition as our new leader,” Kellerman said. “The morale of faculty and students was low when she came on. It has improved every year since. The high school’s School Performance Profile Score was a 57 before she came on and within three years it was up to 84.”

Compared to the previous high school administration, Kellerman said, there was a never a fear or dread of coming to school after Paula took over the job.

“I remember coming out of a faculty meeting with the previous administration feeling like we were yelled at for no good reason,” he added. “You never felt that with Paula.”

Bufalino asked Kellerman for his reaction after he found out Husar had been suspended.

“I was surprised, but I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors,” Kellerman said. “I can’t speak to that.”

Other testimony

Before Kellerman, the board heard from Nick Lobach, a recent Palmerton graduate, who attended the high school before Husar was suspended.

Lobach outlined a meeting he had with Engler regarding the 2017 teachers strike, while the district’s attorney, Shawn Lochinger, argued that the testimony had nothing to do with Husar.

“I liked Mrs. Husar and I felt like she was a great leader and wasn’t being treated fairly,” Lobach said. “I felt like everyone was coming down on her when maybe it shouldn’t all be on her.”

Asked by Bufalino to expand on why he felt that way, Lobach said, “I wish I could tell you, but I don’t remember exactly what it was. There are multiple things I thought were unfair to her.”

Bryna Witkowski, a guidance counselor who left the district in January 2018 to take a job closer to home, testified about students who came to her to express concern about their time in high school math teacher Pam Wuest’s class.

One of the charges against Husar is that she walked into Wuest’s classroom 21 times in 12 days without explanation and without following up with her about the visits.

According to Husar, the visits did have a purpose and stemmed from multiple parent and student complaints.

“I can remember two students who came to me to complain about some things going on in that classroom,” Witkowski said. “They were typical complaints like some things weren’t fair, that kind of thing.”

Witkowski said complaints about teachers are an almost daily thing, though it doesn’t necessarily mean that the particular teacher is good or bad, or that the complaint is valid or unfounded.

“Math is definitely a touchy subject in terms of complaints,” Witkowski said.

According to Witkowski, she and Husar did meet with Wuest following the student complaints. She added that she never gave her notes from the meeting to Husar.

Husar to testify

Husar is set to testify Tuesday night in the final session for testimony.

Following closing statements from both attorneys, the board will decide whether to reinstate Husar as principal or fire her. A two-thirds majority, or six votes, would be required for termination.

The vote is not expected to take place Tuesday.