A Norwin School Board member has filed a second federal lawsuit against the district and fellow directors.

Alex Detschelt, an attorney representing himself, claims he was retaliated against for exercising his First Amendment rights after the board censured him for sexually descriptive blog posts.

Detschelt filed the three-count lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. He alleges the Norwin School District and the six board members who voted for the censure in February had no right to take official action against him for writings he made as a private citizen on his personal blog, regardless of the content.

The six board members named individually in the suit are Bill Bojalad, Tim Kotch Jr., Raymond Kocak, Heath Shrum, Matt Thomas and Nina Totin.

Censure stemmed from ‘offensive speech’

The board voted to censure Detschelt after he described four men and one woman in sexually descriptive language on his blog. The censure contended Detschelt used “highly offensive speech” in describing the board members — Bojalad, Kotch, Shrum, Thomas and Totin — who were part of a slate of candidates that defeated Detschelt’s slate in the 2023 school board election.

Detschelt’s blog included a sexually demeaning term describing Totin’s physical appearance, though he characterized his descriptions of the men and woman as “satirically derogatory comments.”

“One engaging in lawful private citizen speech should never be sanctioned by the government as it’s prohibited by our First Amendment,” Detschelt said in a statement. “My beliefs are embraced by many, opposed by many.”

Detschelt argued in the lawsuit that the district lacks the authority to impose values, principles of responsible leadership, or what constitutes acceptable speech from private citizens. He contends the censure referred to his statements as coming from “school director” Detschelt, but he was speaking as a private citizen.

Lawsuit claims damages to reputation

Detschelt is seeking punitive and general damages for what he claimed was severe emotional distress, mental anguish and embarrassment. The district is named in two counts of the lawsuit, and individual board members are named in two counts. Detschelt is also seeking attorney fees and requested a jury trial.

The lawsuit claims his reputation was damaged after the district publicized a complaint by Totin. Totin alleged Detschelt had created a hostile and unsafe environment for her that rose to the level of sexual harassment through comments about her body and other graphic sexual references. The lawsuit stated that a Pittsburgh law firm investigated the complaint and found it did not reach the level of harassment or discrimination.

Detschelt’s suit contends the censure and the publicity surrounding the complaint have “severely diminished” his ability to fairly present himself to voters in future elections. His term as a school director expires at the end of this year, and he has stated his intent to run in the 2027 school board race.

The board’s vote for censure in February was passed 6-0. Of the three other board members, Detschelt and his political ally, Shawna Ilagan, did not attend the meeting. Christine Baverso abstained from voting; she ran alongside Detschelt on a slate of candidates in 2021.

District to defend censure, board members

Russell Lucas, the district solicitor, declined to comment on the substance of Detschelt’s 68-page complaint but referenced its length.

“I don’t read a lot of modern fiction,” Lucas said.

Lucas confirmed the school district will defend the five board members named as individuals in the suit.

Bill Bojalad, board president, declined comment on Detschelt’s lawsuit but said the district would issue a statement. The district had not released a statement as of Wednesday.

History of litigation

This marks the second time Detschelt has filed a federal lawsuit over being censured by his fellow board members.

In November 2022, Detschelt was censured for posting a social media meme against then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman that depicted a Halloween costume labeled with a sexually explicit word and a derisive term for a person with mental illness.

Detschelt’s federal lawsuit against the school district and board members over that censure was dismissed by a federal judge in May. Detschelt said he has since filed an amended complaint in that case.

He previously dropped a separate lawsuit he and three political allies filed against then-Superintendent Jeff Taylor and some board members over the failure to publish negative evaluations of Taylor.

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