By Monica Pryts
GREENVILLE, PITTSBURGH — Tuesday was the ninth and final day of testimony in Jon Ross’ appeal of his firing from Greenville Area School District.
Ross and former school board president Michael Downing testified again before the state Labor Relations Board, Pittsburgh. They contradicted each other’s testimony and Ross contradicted testimony from three teachers who accused him of sexual harassment.
School directors fired Ross April 20 from his job teaching third grade at Hempfield Elementary School for allegedly sexually harassing female co-workers.
Ross, 48, appealed his termination and claims he was wrongfully fired in retaliation for bringing concerns to administrators and board members while he was president of the Greenville Education Association, the teachers’ union.
Ross claimed Downing and former high school principal Dr. John Ziegler cornered him in February 2008 in his classroom to discourage him from talking at a school board meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Patricia M. Homer, who retired Nov. 30, told Downing Ross was planning to discuss his displeasure with not being hired as a track coach, Downing said.
Downing and Ziegler told Ross if he had personnel issues, a public board meeting wasn’t proper protocol. Ross was uncomfortable speaking without a union representative and the conversation ended there, Downing said.
“I don’t feel like it was a cornering,” said Downing, who just finished out his term on the school board.
Ross spoke at the meeting and invited the board to the third-graders’ reading program.
Downing described the board’s deliberations when deciding whether Ross was guilty of the charges against him, including immorality.
Downing found Ross guilty of that charge because Ross lied to him about having a videotape showing school employees doing work at Dr. Homer’s home during school hours. Ross testified there was no tape.
“I really had a problem with that,” Downing said.
Ross was reprimanded for sexually harassing former teacher Genna (Rossi) Zelinsky in 2002, being ordered to stop all sexual jokes and comments with all school employees.
Mrs. Zelinsky testified Monday Ross’ inappropriate behavior continued and she didn’t know until summer 2008, after two others teachers complained about him, that he had been reprimanded.
If the board had known Ross violated the terms of his punishment, his behavior could have been addressed sooner, Downing said.
ä In Ross’ testimony:
He denied telling Mrs. Zelinsky he’d like to see a pair of her shoes above his head nor did he infer she starred in a pornographic video.
Mrs. Zelinsky’s testimony that a student said Ross had a crush on her while they were on a field trip to the symphony wasn’t true, he said.
He doesn’t remember standing next to her at the symphony as she said, but if she was so uncomfortable around him, why would she have been near him, Ross asked.
He also denied Mrs. Zelinsky’s claims that he backed her up against a hallway wall at school. Ross limited his interaction with her after the reprimand and said he was surprised at her complaints.
Mrs. Zelinsky testified Ross was retaliating against her by not including her in certain school events or activities and buying drinks for everyone but her at a social gathering.
Ross said he did buy her a drink and didn’t organize the school events, so he had no role in inviting other teachers.
Mrs. Zelinsky said Ross made her job with his students as a Title I teacher difficult because of his lack of communication, another claim he denied.
He also denied throwing a stack of test papers at her head, saying she reached out for them and caught them as he let go.
Ross for the second time disputed sexual harassment complaints made by teachers Emily Jackson and Deanna Grantham, who testified against him Oct. 26.
He gave them compliments about their appearances on several occasions, which they apparently perceived as harassment, he said, adding some of their testimony was inaccurate.
Ross admitted he continued sexual jokes and comments with other teachers he called “close friends,” but if they weren’t offended, he didn’t think his interaction with them could be considered harassment.
Marcus Schlegel of Pennsylvania State Education Association, which works with the union, said a lot of allegations against Ross were unsubstantiated and the board’s motivation for his dismissal was union activities.
If Ross’ actions were so grievous, why did the board wait until October 2008, seven months after Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Grantham complained, to bring the charges against him, he asked.
Diego Correa of Pittsburgh, the school’s attorney, declined to comment.
PSEA attorney Todd Park, who represents Ross, has until Jan. 22 to submit a brief to hearing officer Tom Leonard and Correa has until Feb. 22 to file a response. Leonard said he could make a ruling by mid-March on whether the district fired Ross in retaliation for his union activities.
