NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — Northampton Area School Board on Monday approved the resignation of a school director who stepped down amid a change in his residency and an active lawsuit he filed against the board.
School directors unanimously voted to accept Brian McCulloch's resignation, effective Sept. 6. He represented Region 3, which consists of Bath, Chapman and Moore Township.
McCulloch is suing the school board for allegedly violating the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, which requires deliberation on agency business to happen in an “open and public meeting.”
The school board will hold public interviews to fill the vacancy created by McCulloch’s resignation at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in Northampton Area High School's auditorium.
More information for those interested in applying for the role will be posted on the district website.
The person selected to fill the vacancy will serve on the board until 2027, when McCulloch’s term was set to end.
Board 'pounced' on residency change
McCulloch resigned instead of letting the board ask that the courts declare his seat vacant “on the grounds of non-residency,” according to an agenda item that was tabled.
The board tabled the item after approving McCulloch’s resignation instead.
McCulloch, who didn't attend Monday's meeting, told LehighValleyNews.com via phone that he lived in Bath until about a week and a half ago, when he moved out of his house because of “personal issues.”
He said the decision was better for his family.
He still lives in Northampton Area School District and said he has begun looking for a home in Moore Township, which is in the region he previously represented.
He said the school board “pounced” on the opportunity to force him off the board even as he sought to quickly regain residency in Region 3.
That was done in “retaliation” for the lawsuit he recently filed, he said.
Lawsuit alleges Sunshine Act violation
In the lawsuit, McCulloch says school directors violated the open meetings law by deliberating via email about whether to allow for additional work and overtime hours on a facilities project at George Wolf Elementary School in Bath.
There were unanticipated issues on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning project at the school.
The additional work, totaling $195,000 in change orders, was needed to make sure the school opened in time for the new academic year and so students wouldn’t have to learn remotely throughout September.
School directors continued discussions on the matter via an email chain, which included a quorum of the board as recipients, according to the lawsuit.
They did so despite warnings from McCulloch of potential illegality, the document alleges.
“It’s really a shame that they don't put an importance on transparency and debating the allocation of public funds in public instead of behind closed doors, which is what Joe Kovalchik likes to do."Brian McCulloch, former Northampton Area school director
McCulloch also says in his lawsuit that Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik encouraged board President Kristin Soldridge to call school directors for one-on-one discussions on the facilities issue as a way to “circumvent” the Sunshine Act.
The school board at its August meeting decided to keep workers on site at George Wolf and retroactively approved the decision to move forward with the necessary change orders for the additional work.
“It’s really a shame that they don't put an importance on transparency and debating the allocation of public funds in public instead of behind closed doors, which is what Joe Kovalchik likes to do,” McCulloch told LehighValleyNews.com.
“I’m done killing myself trying to fight with these people when the corruption is deep to the core."
'Everything is brought to the public'
In response, Kovalchik said that in his role as superintendent, he doesn’t “solely make decisions on financing or budgeting or facilities,” noting he doesn’t have voting power.
“My job is to gather the information that’s requested [and] to put it together to present to the board of education," he said.
“We’re not going running around approving a million dollars behind the scenes. Everything is brought to the public.”Joseph Kovalchik, Northampton Area Superintendent
"It’s [the school directors'] responsibility to read that, analyze it, break it down and vote the way they want to vote at the end of the day. It’s that as simple as far as I’m concerned."
“We’re not going running around approving a million dollars behind the scenes," he said. "Everything is brought to the public.”
After McCulloch publicly raised his concerns about transparency at the August board meeting, school directors unanimously voted to authorize the district’s solicitor to investigate whether a Sunshine Act violation occurred in the board’s handling of the George Wolf HVAC project.
McCulloch decided to file his lawsuit despite the investigation, he said, because he doesn’t trust the district’s attorneys to be impartial.
McCulloch in his lawsuit seeks for the district to cover his attorney fees and court costs.
When asked about the lawsuit by LehighValleyNews.com, Board President Soldridge declined to comment on it, saying it's an ongoing matter.
She said when the district’s solicitor completes its investigation into whether a Sunshine Act violation occurred, the law firm will provide a written assessment of its findings.
Residents split on Sunshine Act issue
At Monday’s board meeting, Maggie Kemp, a former school director, thanked McCulloch during her public comments for raising his concerns.
“I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in the behind-the-scenes actions of this school board,” Kemp said.
“Encouraged and prompted by your superintendent, you secretly discussed, deliberated and ultimately approved $195,000 in [charges] for the project.”
But Katie Hock, a district parent, said she supported the superintendent's decision-making in regard to the George Wolf project.
“I think he did a good job,” Hock said. “I’m sure he didn’t just very brazenly make this decision to spend the taxpayers’ money.
“I think he put a lot of thought into that decision.”
Kovalchik said he could have waited to tell school directors about the work issues and the likely costs at George Wolf until the next board meeting in August, rather than via email as he did in late July.
But he thought the topic was an important one, he said.
“I wasn’t going to take the chance and try to not be transparent," he said.
