Penn Hills School Board member censured, faces possible removal

A Penn Hills School Board member has been censured for a social media post and is facing possible removal from the board.

The May voting meeting’s agenda featured a motion to censure board member Devon Goetze. Board member Robert Marra presented the censure and attributed it to a Facebook post where Goetze posted screenshots of the primary election results for the board and questioned who state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, would be endorsing during the general election:

“My condolences to the school board president. Do you think she’ll be able to get the Senator to endorse the Republican slate at the main election? I can’t wait to see what public punishment is in store for me now.”

The post has since been deleted.

Marra said Goetze was being censured on the grounds of the post being unprofessional and claimed it could have future consequences for the school board. He said Costa was an instrumental player in helping the school district exit financial recovery status.

“(The post) could sway him from being a strong proponent of the district in the future,” Marra said.

A censure is the board’s lowest form of discipline and involves no penalties or consequences, he said.

“I should know. I was censured in the past for some comments I made in an information meeting that we had with teachers,” Marra said.

Goetze told TribLive her post was in response to a previous Facebook post made by board President Erin Vecchio. In the post, Vecchio criticized the Penn Hills Democratic Committee for its selected endorsements before the primary election:

“Dear people of Penn Hills, can you please start researching your candidates for the school board? This election is too important. When I bring out things next week, you’re not (going to) believe what you are going to read. It is truly sad how the Penn Hills Democratic Party did not endorse the incumbents who have already (proven themselves). Jay Costa knew who to endorse and told them this, but they chose not to listen, but endorsed people that should have never been put on the slate. You will all be reading it soon.”

The committee endorsed newcomers Dawn Golden, Reginald Hickman, Monica Colbert and incumbent Nicole Richardson. Costa endorsed incumbents Joseph Capozoli, Evelyn Herbert, Marisa Jamison and Richardson. With nine candidates running for four available seats, Colbert, Richardson, Golden and Hickman earned spots on the Democratic ballot while Capozoli, Richardson, Herbert and Jamison earned spots on the Republican ballot.

Marra claimed Costa was “livid” about Goetze’s post and that the senator contacted various members of the Penn Hills Democratic Committee to express his anger.

Costa’s office did not return a request for comment about the post.

“I don’t know who all he called or who he talked to, but he never called me,” Goetze said when asked whether she spoke with Costa following the post. “He’s never once reached out to discuss the matter.”

Further punishment

Goetze was censured in a 7-2 vote with herself and board member Heather Broman being the only votes against the motion.

Goetze made the following statement after the vote:

“If you want to censure me, that’s fine. If you want to weaponize political vendettas, that’s fine. This is what happens when the president is challenged, and this is her reaction when she loses. You are using a tool that is not to be used in this way. I have done nothing wrong despite ongoing threats and being screamed at repeatedly for things that I have not done. You clearly just want to censure me. Last year, I was being censured over what I wear. Throughout the year, more excuses. Two weeks ago, I was given another reason and now tonight yet another one still. You are going to keep going until you find something that sticks and, unfortunately, your reasoning tonight does not either. This obviously is what happens when you cross the president. I’m going to continue to fight for what’s right, speak out against what is not right and I’m not going away. I will not stop challenging you or telling the truth or bringing things to light. If this is what happens when she loses, then OK, and if this is how you act, then that’s fine. It’s clear who the problem here is and if this is the price I have to pay to challenge you and stand up for what’s right and what’s not, then that’s the price I’m willing to pay.”

Despite the censure having no further penalties, Goetze told TribLive she was denied the opportunity to hand a student their diploma at the district’s graduation on June 6. The student personally requested Goetze to hand them their diploma, Goetze said. In an email thread shared with TribLive, Vecchio denies the request and said the majority of the board did as well because of Goetze’s recent censure. Vecchio did not name which members were asked.

According to Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, there has been First Amendment case law that allows censure, but those cases do not allow board members to impose retaliatory penalties such as fines.

“There’s no bright line to define what is a ‘retaliatory’ penalty, but the restriction on an official duty like handing out diplomas could be subject to legal challenge on First Amendment grounds,” Melewsky said in an email.

Letters to the state Senate

Vecchio told TribLive the board is seeking further action against Goetze because she has allegedly “repeatedly failed to adhere to the board’s established code of conduct.”

“(Goetze has) called the solicitor unethical. She’s called this board unethical. She’s gone after Dayne (Dice, the district solicitor,) publicly and said he was unethical. We’re trying to move this district forward,” Vecchio said during the meeting.

Two letters were sent to Costa and state Senate majority leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, asking for the intercession of the Pennsylvania State Senators and requesting Goetze’s removal from the board. The letters were signed by Vecchio and the board’s vice president, Jackie Blakey-Tate, but each letter states they were written on behalf of the entire Penn Hills School District Board of School Directors.

“Since Devon has come on the board, there’s been a number of issues,” Blakey-Tate said.

She called Goetze’s behavior innapropriate and said it’s a constant battle that throws off the general progress of the board.

“We need to get things done, and we can’t with the constant conflict and undermining,” Blakey-Tate said. “I think the best thing would be to have her removed.”

While Costa did not address Goetze’s social media post, he sent the following statement to TribLive:

“I confirm that I recently received a letter from the Penn Hills School District Board of School Directors requesting that the Pennsylvania Senate remove Director Devon Goetze from office pursuant to Article VI, Section 7 of the (Pennsylvania) Constitution. Our state courts, as well as our Senate precedent, require a demonstration of physical or mental incapacity or an inability to fulfill the duties of one’s office to find “reasonable cause” to pursue removal. We will be reviewing the censure resolution and letter against this standard for removal.”

While only the social media post was mentioned as a cause for Goetze’s censure during the meeting, a resolution attached to each letter attributes the censure to a medley of Goetze’s past alleged actions.

The resolution accuses Goetze of asking a “rhetorical question” regarding a lawsuit between Vecchio and a school board candidate regarding the candidate’s position on the primary election ballot. During the board’s April voting meeting, Goetze asked whether there was a conflict of interest since Dice, the district solicitor, was representing Vecchio and the school board was mentioned in the lawsuit. It was determined there was no conflict of interest since no district funds were being used to pay for the suit. The suit was later dismissed. Blakey-Tate said Goetze hadn’t mentioned anything about the suit during the board’s prior executive session and accused her of waiting until the public meeting to make a scene.

The resolution also states Goetze has authored “several untruthful and inflammatory social media postings.”

“Ms. Goetze conduct as a board member has continued to erode, and her lack of professionalism interferes with the proper functioning of the Penn Hills School District,” the resolution said.

While board members are unable to remove other board members, the state constitution sets out the process for removing an elected official, Melewsky said.

“The method the board is likely pursuing is the ‘reasonable cause’ provision which requires two-thirds approval by the Senate and approval by the governor. There is also impeachment by the House, with further action by the Senate and governor and self-executing means (conviction of a crime),” Melewsky said in an email.