Updated at 6:20 a.m.
A federal law suit filed on behalf of former Bristol Borough High School student Trevon Stokely alleges that the school district, high school, and two employees violated the students civil rights by treating him differently then two white students with harsher punishments because he is African American.
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Stokely was held out of his high school graduation ceremony in 2011, because he was treated to harsher discipline than his Caucasian cohorts, the action says.
Filed by Bristol-based Kashkashian & Associates, in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Federal Court , the eight page filing asserts 32 allegations of racial and discriminatory practices by the school district, high school, high school guidance counselor Erica Corbezzolo and Roger Roth, a computer teacher at the high school,
“This is a racial discrimination case by a student alleging a continuing series of discriminatory conduct against him because of his race and of his having complained about unlawful discrimination and participation in informal proceedings to protest unlawful injustice,” the first page of the action says.
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Among the 32 charges in the filling is a description of events of two while male students who “were caught cheating” by computer teacher Roth, also white, on a in-class graded assignment. Roth suspected Stokley of cheating, however, there was no evidence of cheating by the African-American student.
Roth told Stokley later that he was “retroactively changing” his grades be cause he “suspected” that he did cheat on the in class assignment because he was friends with the two other students who were caught and was “suspicious of the origin of ” Stokley’s work. Subsequently Roth, the action says, went back and changed many of the students “previous grades.”
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The two white students, the filing says, were not subject to the same consequences.
Stokley’s mother, Lavonne Wright, met with Roth and Corbezzolo on June 6, 2011 where she demanded to know why her son was being treated differently than the two white students. Dean of Students Mr. Gatto, who is Caucasian, alleged that Stokley cheated on his final English exam. The action contends the student was never approached by his English teacher, Heather Quattrocchi, and confronted about the alleged cheating.
Corbezzolo then informed the student he would not be permitted to attend graduation ceremonies and would need to go to summer school. Graduation took place on June 14, 2011 and Stokley was not allowed to participate.
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Moreover, Corbezzolo, the legal action says “made negative comments” to the father of the person he was dating (white) who worked at the school, saying to the girl’s dad, that he should “watch out” for his daughter “because she is dating a thug. ”
When asked for comment about the suit, Superintendent Greg Wright referred this reporter to the school district solicitor William J. Salerno, who didn’t return our inquiry.
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A message was left at Bristol High School on Erica Corbezzolo’s voice mail on Thursday afternoon. No return call was received.
School Board Member Jeff Paleafico listened in stunned silence as the allegations of the suit were read to him over the phone.
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“”I really didn’t know anything about this. We were told next to nothing,” he said, “and I’m flabbergasted by what I am hearing”
Calls were placed to School Board President, Ralph DiGuiseppe III and School Board member John D’Angelo with no response.
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An angered Paleafico said, “I just can’t see why we weren’t told about this, after asking when the lawsuit was filed (June 13).”
“Unbelievable,” he added.
The suit asks for a ruling that will direct the Bristol Borough School District to eliminate such policy and practice and that the court enter judgement declaring that the defendants have intentionally racially discriminated against Treyvon Stokley.
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Additionally, it asks the court to award the plaintiff compensatory damages against the defendants of an undetermined amount.
There is a second cause of action as part of the filing which outlines two points for “intentionally inflicted emotional distress… for which defendants are liable under Pennsylvania Law.”
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The presiding judge your Hon. Gene E.K. Pratter. No hearing date is scheduled at this time.
Relevant Law
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
