The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 2, 2009

UPDATE: Commonwealth Court hears McFerren appeal

By Tom Davidson

FARRELL — Farrell Area School District has moved on since firing high school principal Lee McFerren in July 2008.

“Dr. Connelly and Lora and Carole have worked diligently to make the district whole,” school board President Marcena Cimoric said of Farrell’s interim superintendent Dr. Lawrence Connelly; the Rev. Lora Adams-King, who replaced McFerren; and elementary principal Carole Borkowski.

“Are we moving in the right direction? Absolutely,” Mrs. Cimoric said.

It’s not the direction McFerren had in mind.

McFerren appealed the school board’s decision to fire him – first to the state Department of Education and then to Commonwealth Court, where on Oct. 13 arguments were heard in Pittsburgh.

“I’m hopeful we get a decision that’s favorable to Mr. McFerren,” said his attorney Barbara Seman Ochs. “I was pleased they were so well informed and interested in the case.”

She had 10 minutes to argue that McFerren acted in the best interest of Farrell students during his tenure and that the days-long removal hearing was unfair.

The school district, represented by attorney Andria Saia of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., maintains McFerren neglected his duties as principal, mismanaged teachers and students, and violated the state school code during his three years with the district.

McFerren, whose last known address was in Meadville, is seeking reinstatement with back pay and interest from the time of his Feb. 7, 2008, suspension, Mrs. Ochs said.

Mrs. Ochs said attorney-client privilege prevented her from detailing what McFerren’s doing now and attempts to contact him Monday weren’t successful.

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