Civil-rights claim against superintendent upheld

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February 22, 2012

KIM SMITH DEDAM Press-Republican The Press Republican Wed Feb 22, 2012, 05:36 PM EST

LAKE PLACID — The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found merit in a civil-rights claim brought against Lake Placid School Superintendent Dr. Randy Richards.

At a meeting Tuesday night, the School Board acknowledged receipt of a decision from the commission that found interaction Richards had with Lake Placid Middle School Principal Katherine Mulderig discriminatory in nature after investigating a complaint made last March.

And a petition from 600 parents, teachers and other members of the public has called for Richards to resign.

The complaint — brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act — stemmed from comments Richards admittedly made in a personnel discussion with Mulderig last February, saying he needed someone "bitchier" to manage the "bitchy" teachers at the Elementary School.

The commission finding is an administrative determination, according to Phillip Steck, Mulderig's attorney with the law firm Cooper Erving & Savage, based in Albany.

'RETALIATED'

It is a preliminary ruling that could lead to further litigation.

"It's an administrative determination that there is probable cause to believe that Richards discriminated against Katherine Mulderig because of her gender; that he retaliated against her for making a complaint of sex discrimination; and that he created a hostile work environment for Katherine Mulderig, based on her gender," Steck told the Press-Republican in an interview Wednesday.

"Under law, in order to pursue a case in Federal Court, you have to submit it first to EEOC for a preliminary ruling.

"The district lost at this stage in the proceeding."

The ruling bears the weight of possible federal civil-rights violation from the commission, which is the agency charged with enforcing laws against sex discrimination.

Steck said he believed the finding was mailed to the Lake Placid School District on Feb. 10.

"But when it arrived there, I couldn't say."

Steck said neither he nor his client would comment on the next legal steps they may take.

'MORE URGENCY'

But parents, teachers and members of community asked plainly for Richards's resignation.

With 600 names, the petition carries nearly the same number of signatures as people who vote in the school election, said parent Linda Wallace, who spoke at the meeting Tuesday.

"It was very clear at the meeting, and I said, based on the fact that the EEOC decision did come out, this needs to be acted upon immediately. There is more urgency to the situation now. We're all hopeful that the board will take action now very quickly, Wallace told the Press-Republican Wednesday.

Members of the public have been attending School Board meetings and urging district leaders to remove Richards or limit his authority.

"The message and the strength in the petition, it's pretty powerful in terms of numbers, which is about 10 percent of registered voters in Lake Placid," Wallace said.

Robert Schiller, a former Lake Placid principal who is now adjunct lecturer and leads field experience of student teachers at Plattsburgh State, handed the petition to the School Board.

He could not be reached by phone Wednesday, but his comments at an earlier School Board meeting called the school environment "toxic."

In those comments, Schiller touched on several aspects he said are causing discord, referring to the outcry as a "referendum of no confidence."

Contacted Wednesday, School Board members Janet Smith and Jill Cardinale Segger deferred comments to School Board President Phil Baumbach.

ACCEPTED APOLOGY

The School Board has remained mum on the subject, citing it as a confidential personnel matter. Members also do not respond to parents or students who speak at the meetings.

But Baumbach did write a Viewpoint that appeared in the Press-Republican in late December that said while the board takes the input from the community very seriously, it also recognizes Richards's "significant contributions" to the district and accepted his apology.

"The board has heard the calls for resignation or termination, and that is not an action that we will be taking at this time," he said.

Attorney Jacqueline Kelleher with the Plattsburgh firm Stafford, Piller, Murnane, Plimpton, Kelleher & Trombley, PLLC, represents Lake Placid School District in the Mulderig matter.

Kelleher could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and neither could Richards.

Lake Placid schools were closed for vacation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Email Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com