UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — Southern Lehigh School Board on Monday approved a $215,000 settlement agreement with the district’s human resources director, who had accused the former superintendent of discrimination and retaliation.
School directors voted 5-2 to approve Ethan Ake-Little’s resignation and settlement agreement.
"I am nonetheless pleased that the Board and I were able to come to an amicable conclusion."Ethan Ake-Little, Southern Lehigh HR Director
School board President Stephen Maund, along with directors Nicole King, Mary Joy Reinartz, Melissa Torba and Christopher Wayock voted in favor of the motion.
Board Vice President Candi Kruse and Director Emily Gehman voted against it.
Directors Eric Boyer and Timothy Kearney were absent.
Ake-Little provided the following statement on his departure from Southern Lehigh: "While it is disappointing that my time at Southern Lehigh SD came to an unexpected end and that I did not get the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to many of my colleagues, I am nonetheless pleased that the Board and I were able to come to an amicable conclusion."
Ake-Little's complaints
Ake-Little, 39, had filed complaints of discrimination, retaliation and fraud against former Superintendent Michael Mahon, 57, who publicly pushed back against the claims, saying his leadership had been mischaracterized.
Those complaints were filed at the school-district level, and some were escalated to state and federal levels.
Mahon parted ways with the district last month, receiving a six-figure payout of his own.
Additionally, Ake-Little, who is Indian-American and married to a same-sex partner, has been suspended with pay since June while the district investigated his performance for alleged “incompetence” and "willful neglect” of duties, among other claims that were made after his complaints were filed.
Director Gehman said she still doesn’t know exactly why Ake-Little was suspended.
Her board colleagues said she was involved in meetings related to Ake-Little’s suspension and should have asked questions then.
Director Torba said Gehman was creating a "false narrative" and sowing division amongst the board with her comments.
Gehman also accused those who voted to approve Ake-Little's resignation and settlement agreement of wasting taxpayer dollars to avoid liability regarding the district’s treatment of Ake-Little.
She suggested the board instead offer Ake-Little a contract to come back to work at Southern Lehigh in return for him dropping his complaints.
Mallory Lane, a district parent, questioned Ake-Little's settlement.
If the claims in Ake-Little's suspension letter were true, then Lane said the HR director should have been fired.
"And if these allegations weren't founded and you found out there was no reason for this, why is he not coming back?" Lane said.
"And why aren't we starting the school year with a director of HR?"
Luis Melecio, a district parent and school board candidate, raised concerns about the cost of Ake-Little's settlement.
"How can we have this money [for the settlement] when we as a community sit and witness arguments about art supplies, mic packs and laptop cases?"
Terms of settlement agreement
LehighValleyNews.com obtained a copy of the agreement, which shows Ake-Little’s resignation is effective Aug. 31. He first started in Southern Lehigh in August 2023.
In addition to the $215,000 payout, the document also shows the district forfeited $7,200 paid to Temple University in Philadelphia, where Ake-Little is an evening law student.
That payment was part of Ake-Little's employee education benefit.
Additionally, Ake-Little is eligible for unemployment compensation benefits.
Through the settlement, Ake-Little and the school district agreed the document “constitutes full relief for any and all claims” the two parties may have against each other.
The school district must also defend Ake-Little from any claims brought against him for actions he took while he was acting "within the scope of his employment” as HR director.
The district and Ake-Little also mutually agreed not to disparage the other.
The non-disparagement provision applies to any district-issued statements, as well as “comments made by the Administration or Board of School Directors, whether acting in their official or individual capacities.”
The settlement agreement states that Ake-Little will not be bound by the non-disparagement provision if an administrator or school director breaks it first.
Additionally, the settlement provides for a supervisor or school director to serve as an employment reference for Ake-Little.
Ake-Little also agreed not to apply for any position in the school district for the next five years.
Ake-Little's biography
Before coming to Southern Lehigh, Ake-Little was the HR director for Wallingford-Swarthmore School District in Delaware County, according to his biography on Southern Lehigh’s website.
He also served as the executive director of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania.
While getting a doctorate in urban education at Temple University, he was a research assistant and president of the university’s graduate students’ union.
Before working in HR, Ake-Little was a science education administrator in the School District of Philadelphia and a biology teacher at high schools in Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County.
