After being terminated from Farrell Area School District as the high school principal in July 2008, it has been found that Lee V. McFerren was unjustly fired and the school board did not have sufficient evidence for his termination.

LEE McFERREN

On April 8, Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, wrote and filed a majority opinion on behalf of herself and judges Keith B. Quigley and Renée Cohn Jubelirer that states, “…The district’s evidence did not prove that it had a ‘valid cause’ to discharge McFerren. Accordingly, the secretary’s decision is reversed.”

McFerren declined to discuss the opinion and his feelings, but did refer the New Pittsburgh Courier to his lawyer.

Polls that show him trailing in his race to unseat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter don’t matter to U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, nor do the polls saying he’d lose to Republican candidate Pat Toomey if he somehow managed to defeat Specter in the May primary election. What matters, he says, is integrity.

OPPORTUNITY OR OPPORTUNIST—That, says U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak, is the choice Democratic primary voters face between him and incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter.

“There is an absolute lack of trust in politicians by the public and Arlen Specter epitomizes that lack of trust,” Sestak told the New Pittsburgh Courier editorial board. “He’s shown time and again, he’ll do anything to keep his job. I think you should stand or fall on your convictions, which is why I’m not running to keep my congressional seat.”

Last week U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan ruled that a state law allowing for faster firings of management-level school employees was unconstitutional. Though this decision could have future implications, it came as a direct result of a lawsuit filed by Dwight Mosley, Ph.D., in November 2007.

DWIGHT MOSLEY

Mosley, a graduate of Westinghouse High School and the University of Dayton where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D., was fired from his position as the director of recruiting and staffing with the Pittsburgh Public School District Aug. 23, 2007. He filed a lawsuit against the district on the grounds he did not receive due process when he was terminated.

After seven years as state house representative of the 19th Legislative District, Jake Wheatley has remained focused on his commitment to closing the racial achievement gap. For him, education is a top priority and improving education in his district, he said, is the key to resolving other issues.

JAKE WHEATLEY

“When I talk about education I always talk about the complete sense. It’s important to really make sure every child receives a high quality education,” Wheatley said. “We really see that as a critical piece; everything else is based on that. That’s the foundation.”

As subcommittee chairman on education appropriations as well as a member of the state education committee, Wheatley has been at the center of resolutions to improve education throughout his district and beyond.