A Lehighton Area School District director filed three lawsuits in Carbon County Court over the past month alleging the district violated the Sunshine Act and failed to provide him financial documents.

In his court filings, David Bradley Sr., who is in the final year of a four-year term, contends Lehighton’s athletic and finance committees failed to take public comment in February prior to an official action.

“The committee meeting started, and prior to public comment, despite raised hands in Zoom, the committee proceeded to make recommendations to the board of school directors in opposition to the Sunshine Act,” Bradley wrote in his complaint.

“No public comments were permitted after agenda subjects were discussed, and prior to the committee making official recommendations not previously identified on the agenda.”

In the past, district officials have argued that making a recommendation to the full board of directors is not an official action.

Pressed by Bradley on the issue during Monday’s board meeting, Lehighton solicitor Eric Filer said the section of the Sunshine Act being referred to only applies to the whole board.

“The district is in the middle of a lawsuit that has been submitted to a third party so I don’t want to tie down the school district’s responses, but I don’t feel there was a Sunshine Act violation,” Filer said.

On Monday night, Bradley voted against everything that was reviewed by either of the committees in question, calling the items “fruit from a poisonous tree.”

He is asking the court to declare the committee recommendations void, prevent the defendants from denying public comment in advance of official business, and order defendants to attend a public session on the requirements of the Sunshine Act.

In the lawsuits involving the committees, Bradley named the district as a whole and individual board members Wayne Wentz, Stephen Holland, Larry Stern, Nathan Foeller and Rita Spinelli. Richard Beltz, who is also a member of the finance committee, was not named.

Bradley, in the third lawsuit, argues that the district has denied him free and amicable access to financial records.

“The Public School Code does not confer the power to a majority of the board to deny any member the right to access records,” Bradley said.

Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the district is providing its board members more financial information than they have ever received in the past including monthly bank statements.

On Monday night, Cleaver said the district was working to set up a meeting with Bradley for a review of documents.

Bradley is asking a judge to issue a court order to “ensure directors have free amicable access to the retained records of the agency they serve.”