Officials on the Somerset County Vocational & Technical School (SCVTS) Board of Education recently approved a $110,000 settlement agreement in response to a civil lawsuit from a former Spanish teacher that claimed he was regularly harassed by students for his sexual orientation and the school did nothing to address the problem.
The settlement, which will give Kevin McManus nearly $67,000 for emotional distress, while also covering $43,000 in attorney fees and litigation expenses, was signed by school board President William J. Hyncik on Dec. 18.
Though the settlement was approved, SCVTS Superintendent Dr. Chrys Harttraft called the decision nothing more than a “financial decision,” since allowing the case to go to court would cost more than the $110,000 settlement.
Attorney Andrew M. Moskowitz, who represented McManus, could not be reached for comment.
Filed with the Somerset County Superior Court back in March 2015, the complaint alleged that the harassment that ultimately led to the end of McManus’ nearly six-year tenure at SCVTS began in May 2011 when he was outed as a gay man by one of his pupils.
McManus taught at SCVTS from Sept. 2008 until June 2014.
Until November 2013, the former teacher alleged that three students named by the court as S.L., S.G. and D.M. were the focal point of the harassment, which included shouted epithets, derogatory comments based on McManus’ sexual orientation and unwanted physical contact.
Even though the complaint points to corroborating evidence from other students that McManus was being harassed because of his sexual orientation, the teacher alleged in his complaint that the administration did not sufficiently try to address the issue.
Despite multiple complaints to members of the SCVTS administration, the complaint states that D.M. was suspended for one week in May 2013 and parents were notified of the students’ behavior. There are no other mentions about other disciplinary actions.
Feeling that the harassment was not being handled appropriately by SCVTS administration, McManus filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights in late October 2013. It was that action, he alleged in the complaint, that drew ire from his superiors through a “number of retaliatory acts.”
One example, according to the complaint, is McManus’ allegation that during the 2013-14 school year, he was not allowed to use personal days on shorter weeks with holidays, even though he had previously been allowed to and other teachers were able to do so.
During a meeting on Jan. 14, 2014, the complaint also states that McManus met with Harttraft and four other administrators to request accommodations for medical issues. In that meeting, the superintendent “demanded that McManus provided embarrassing details regarding the exact nature of his medical issues and why he required an accommodation.”
McManus’ complaint alleges that he has since suffered from “irritable bowel syndrome, urinary incontinence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, sleep deprivation, loss of concentration, exhaustion, irritability, hopelessness, exacerbated hypertension and exacerbated erectile dysfunction.”
Though those accommodations had been provided the two previous years, Harttraft allegedly told McManus that SCVTS could not provide similar measures, stating in front of the other administrators that McManus “should consider a part-time schedule” if he wanted to continue working at the school.
McManus stopped working at SCVTS on Feb. 12, 2014. On March 3 that year, he requested a medical leave of absence and on March 24, his request was granted to take place from March 11 to June 30, 2014.
When McManus requested that his leave be paid, the complaint alleges that the board denied his request. Two additional requests for medical leave were later approved, but requests that he be paid during his leave were denied.
McManus alleged that Harttraft demanded that he resign as a tenured Spanish teacher in March 2014, stating at the time that if he didn’t do so, his requests for disability retirement would be delayed.
By November 2014, after learning that Harttraft had allegedly said that she did not believe the teacher was gay because he was “not effeminate,” he resigned.
“The district vehemently denies the accusations set forth in the complaint,” Harttraft said.
