Two Former Admins File Lawsuits Against Pennsbury, Claim Discrimination

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LevittownNow.com’s investigative reporting has been supported in part by funding from In The Know Club members. 

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Two former Pennsbury School District administrators have filed federal lawsuits with serious allegations. 

Former special education director Sherri Morett and technology director Kevin Dorsey have accused the district of civil rights violations. The lawsuits make allegations of retaliation, offensive behavior, a fractured administration, and impacts to their health.

LevittownNow.com first broke news of the allegations in late 2018 and has continued reporting on the claims. 

Morett is suing the district; Superintendent Dr. William Gretzula; Chester County educator Dr. Joseph O’Brien, who conducted an internal investigation at Pennsbury; former Assistant Superintendent Donna Dunar; school board members Joshua Waldorf, Debra Wachspress, and Christine Toy-Dragoni; and district parent Annette Dearolf. (Read Morett’s lawsuit)

Dorsey’s lawsuit only targets the district and Gretzula. (Read Dorsey’s lawsuit)

While the school district and its legal team have spent months preparing for the lawsuits, no comment was issued by Pennsbury, the superintendent, and school board members as of Tuesday evening. 

Dorsey and Morett’s lawsuits follow U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints by administrators that were filed following allegations of problems in the district and with Gretzula. Seperate from Dorsey and Morett’s complaints, Director of Pupil Services Elizabeth Aldridge and former Fallsington Elementary School Principal Brian Shaffer have also filed EEOC complaints but no lawsuits have materialized in those two cases as of Tuesday.  

Dorsey and Morett, who filed their lawsuits separately, claim that they were subject to a hostile environment and forced to leave Pennsbury, where they had worked for several years. Morett said her gender played a role and Dorsey, a married gay man, said his sexual orientation was a factor in being targeted.

Morett, of Pottstown, Montgomery County, and Dorsey, of Doylestown, also claim they were retaliated against for reporting what they considered to be problematic incidents in the district.  

Dorsey’s lawsuit included his full EEOC complaint.

“From the beginning of my career with Pennsbury, I endured gender harassment, discrimination and retaliation, as well as an ongoing pattern of harassment and discrimination comprising a hostile work environment,” Dorsey wrote in his complaint. 

The former technology director claims that Dunar, the former assistant superintendent who now leads the East Pennsboro Area School District near Harrisburg, made comments about gay staff, calling one man a “cocky gay man with a chip on his shoulder.” 

When Gretzula was hired, Dorsey said he reported the comments to his boss.

“In July 2016, during one of my weekly meetings with Dr. Gretzula, I informed him that I am gay, that Dr. Dunar had made homophobic comments about me and another homosexual employee, and that I was not comfortable working closely with her going forward. He said he would look into the matter and get back to me. Dr. Gretzula never followed up with me,” Dorsey wrote. 

Dorsey also claims that Dunar asked him to decorate her new office because “you are good at that.”

The EEOC complaint filed by Dorsey notes a previously reported on a series of 2016 “Equity and Excellence” meetings where Gretzula used the pejorative term “bow-tied f—–t” when recounting a story about when he was bullied as a child. Dorsey’s complaint said it happened more than once and made “several administrators feel extremely uncomfortable.” 

Sources LevittownNow.com spoke with backed up Dorsey’s claim and others reported hearing about the incident. 

O’Brien, of the Chester County Intermediate Unit, was paid $8,000 for an internal investigation at Pennsbury that covered the incident referred to as the “‘F’ meeting.” The pricey report notes district staff told O’Brien the use of the term by the top administrator was “dumb,” “shocking,” and “hurtful and terrible.” It also lists that some staff felt fellow administrators were trying to create problems for Gretzula. 

In the lawsuit, Dorsey reported sending a letter to the school board president in late 2017 raising several issues, including Dunar, Gretzula, use of the slur, an out-of-district consultant who made stereotyping comments and remarks about gay people, and his fear of retaliation.

Later, Dorsey said he was interviewed by district solicitors Michael Clarke and Peter Amuso with the understanding of confidentiality. He stated he felt Clarke encouraged him to drop his complaint by stating it could be bad for his reputation.

In January 2018, Gretzula reportedly told administrators that he “will not be silenced” and threatened anyone who challenged him, Dorsey said, adding he felt the statement was about being told by the district’s attorney to not use offensive language.

O’Brien is accused by Dorsey of presenting the findings of his investigation by calling out administrators by initials and labeling some a “destructive force” and using the word “power circle.” He also said O’Brien, who has since retired from his job in Chester County, threatened his job and certifications.

In spring 2018, Dorsey sent a memo to the district’s human resources director and requested it be sent to the solicitor and school board president. The complaint mentioned his previous concerns, a letter from his attorney to the district about the hostile work environment, and the actions of O’Brien. The letter was reportedly never delivered to the school board president.

Dorsey said that despite the district stating they would investigate his claims, they never provided him with the results, as mandated by district policy.

Citing comments from a district parent to a school board member, Dorsey said he suspects the superintendent may have been communicating about him using a non-district email.

Dorsey said he felt Gretzula also made his job more difficult after he complained about him. He also claims he did not receive the same pay as similar administrators. 

Following the EEOC filing, Dorsey filed an update stating Gretzula “made frivolous claims about me” and accused him in an email of putting nails and bolts in his tires.

Dorsey said Gretzula told some staff that he intended to “clean house” if he was granted a five-year contract, which came in late 2018.

Dorsey also detailed embarrassing events and accusations in early 2019.

On January 22, Dorsey handed over all his district equipment and passwords in front of his staff. He then was followed home by a “contractor” assisting the district while he retrieved his school system laptop.

Dorsey was put on leave shortly after his doctor wrote a note. The leave, according to Dorsey’s EEOC paperwork, was due to the impact of the Pennsbury situation on his health. The district told him not to return to school property after his doctor cleared him to return and his email address was disabled.

Another district investigation was filled with “random, contrived, false and baseless allegations,” Dorsey said, noting he was not interviewed.

Dorsey left the district on April 12 due to the situation being “intolerable.”

Morett, in her lawsuit, touches on some of the same claims as Dorsey and notes she witnessed “instances of blatant discrimination.”

During one executive session before a school board meeting, Morett said she heard Dunar call a gay administrator a “crotchety gay guy” who “hated women.”

Morett said she complained to human resources and felt Dunar had been going after staff she did not like, including herself.

Morett also noted an incident where Dunar used a term that could be considered racially offensive and suggested it should be removed from a presentation. The term remained and her complaint was not followed up on, she said.

In her lawsuit, Morett provides a similar account of the meeting where Gretzula used the term “bow-tied f—–t” on more than one occasion. 

Morett detailed concerns she raised about those incidents and Gretzula having the administrators perform a ceremonial dance used in Polynesian culture. 

“Other female administrators also participated because they felt obligated but also felt that the dance was sexist and sent the wrong message to the staff,” the lawsuit said. 

Morett, in her filing, claims that Gretzula was “motivated by his gender discrimination” and “undermined the work done by females in leadership positions.” She also said Gretzula made it difficult for her to do her job and then blamed her for problems.

She said the district solicitor said a consultant would work with Gretzula to “address concerns and complaints that were brought forward from administrative staff.”

“At an early 2018 meeting after complaints about his comments had been raised, Gretzula went from anger to tears and back describing how he had been accused of being discriminatory, both racially and gendered, and homophobic in complaints to the board,” Morett’s lawsuit states.

Morett said O’Brien, who handled the district’s internal investigation and review of issues, was a “personal friend of Gretzula.”

Morett cited O’Brien’s investigation at the district and accused him of making derogatory comments and using a slur in support of Gretzula. He also went on to “publicly humiliate, harass, and bully” Morett. Like Dorsey, she noted he identified district staff who raised concerns by their initials and told her that her friendship with school board member Jacqui Redner could jeopardize her certification.

Morett said the experience created anxiety and she needed to seek medical help.

She also said Wachpress, a board member and now a candidate for congress, stated Morett was a troublemaker and was conspiring with Redner to get rid of Gretzula. She also accused Wachspress, who has been an outspoken supporter of Gretzula, of using offensive racist and demeaning language in a private meeting.

Morett said some board members and Gretzula said she should be fired. 

In her filing, Morett described an activity that made staff identify areas of their personal life using colored beads, including brown for African Americans, red for Native Americans, yellow for people of Asian decent, white for Caucasians, and tan for multi-racial people.

Morett said several administrators complained about the activity and felt it was inappropriate.

Gretzula told Morett and Redner in 2018 that he was concerned Morett was trying to take the superintendent’s job, which she denied to him, the lawsuit states. 

Morett said at a public school board meeting, Wachspress, Gretzula, and Dearolf, a Pennsbury parent, “developed a concise plan to have members of the community verbally assault [Morett] both personally and professionally.” She said Redner was also targeted while the superintendent and attorney did not stop the comments.

Morett also claims that Wachspress urged Redner to get the four administrators to drop their EEOC complaints. Wachspress then said former Superintendent Dr. Kevin McHugh had left notes for Gretzula warning Morett was “not a team player.” Morett claims that McHugh said this was false.

Due to the situation, Morett said she left the district in April 2019. 

Gretzula’s time at Pennsbury has been rocky with complaints about his management style being brought forth by sources in the past. The EEOC complaints were in the background of his uncertainty whether he would remain on as the district’s leader. 

At the time of an initial article breaking in December 2018, the Pennsbury School Board quickly put forward a vote to offer Gretzula a new contract through June 30, 2023. The new deal increased his pay from $176,683 to $192,000. Board President T.R. Kannan and members Christine Toy-Dragoni, Gary Sanderson, Debra Wachspress, and Joshua Waldorf voted to keep Gretzula, while Vice President Christian Schwartz and members John Palmer and Jacqui Redner voted down the employment agreement. Board member Nancy Lawson was not at the meeting.

Both Dorsey and Morett are seeking damages. 

Dorsey’s attorney did not immediately return a call for comment. 

Timothy Kolman, the Penndel-based attorney representing Morett, said the “complaint speaks for itself” and he looked to vindicate his client. 

Dearolf was not aware of the lawsuits and declined to comment.

Dunar said she had not yet reviewed the lawsuits. 

O’Brien was unable to be reached.

 

The Pennsbury School Board president released a statement on Wednesday. 

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