Punxsutawney School Board approves amended charges against co-principal

Publish date: 2024-05-12

Jefferson Co., PA (WJAC) — The Punxsutawney Area School District school board met Tuesday evening for a special meeting in regards to the charges against High School co-principal Paul Hetrick.

The School board voted to approve an amendment to the statement of charges. The amendment includes new allegations that were brought up during the district’s investigation which claim that Hetrick sexually harassed an employee on multiple occasions and violated the conditions of his administrative leave.

According to the new Statement of Charges that was posted to the district's website, Hetrick is accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment against a fellow co-worker during the fall of 2022.

The School Board issued the following statement:

At tonight’s board meeting, the school board voted 8-0 to approve the amended statement of charges related to the dismissal of Paul Hetrick. The reason for the amendment is that subsequent to the January 6, 2023 board meeting where the initial Statement of Charges was approved, a final decision was issues with respect to Title IX Sexual Harassment allegations made against Mr. Hetrick. The Statement of Charges was thereafter amended to add the charges related to the Title IX matter. As stated previously, the vote to approve the statement of charges is not a vote to dismiss Mr. Hetrick but will begin the dismissal process consistent with the procedures set forth in the Public-School Code. Mr. Hetrick will be provided with notice of the amended charges and informed of his legal rights, which include, among other things, his right to request a hearing in front of the Board. As this is a pending personnel matter, the Board will not make any further comments related to this matter unless or until official board action is taken.

The hearing for the dismissal from employment will take place next month on February 13, 2023, at 6pm at the Punxsutawney Area High School.

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