13 of 17 workers in Peters suit still employed at school
Thirteen of the 17 female teachers and guidance counselors who won nearly $1.3 million in lost wages from a gender and age discrimination lawsuit against Peters Township School District remain employed in the district.
Identified in the settlement were Renee Wentzel, Elizabeth Bladel, Gloria Bombara-Laux, Janice Cmar, Leslie Green, Denise Hitchens, Christine Kedzuf, Maria Marcinak, Carla McCue, Lois Murray, Nancy Parker, Delores Petricca, Sonya Ring, Anne Bernosky, Kathleen Sekely, Suzette Sprowls and Victoria Mannion.
District spokeswoman Shelly Belcher said Anne Bernosky, Kathleen Sekely, Suzette Sprowls and Victoria Mannion are no longer with the district and retired or left before August.
The district payed a total of $2,000,314 in the settlement, with $1,281,709 going to the plaintiffs, and $718,605 to the law firm representing them. The suit was dismissed Aug. 15 after both parties agreed to settle out of court.
“This was an amicable decision both sides worked very hard to get to,” attorney Colleen Johnston said of the nearly five-year legal process.
Johnston argued the women witnessed younger or male teachers being hired with higher salaries and their experience was not being recognized in pay raises or their classification of salary.
Peters Township School District, represented by attorney John F. Cambest, argued in court the district had no liability in the case, and various superintendents between 1993 and 2008 hired the most qualified applicants at the lowest pay acceptable to new hires and allowed by state law.