A Knoch School Board member was joined by residents expressing concern about a decision last week to join a lawsuit.
Last week the Knoch Board voted to join a lawsuit that argues the state’s two-year-old antidiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people are illegal because they go beyond the intent of the law.
Board member Rebecca Boyd voted against the decision at that time on grounds that spending $10,000 on the suit was a “frivolous” use of district funds. Wednesday night she went further, stating that the suit stained her reputation and sent a “tragic message of intolerance”.
Two members of the public at the meeting also questioned the wisdom of joining the suit. District Solicitor Tom Breth of Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter, and Graham confirmed that discussion about the suit took place at a closed executive session last week and he offered to provide more information about the suit to anyone who is interested.
By joining the suit, the district seeks to ban the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission from investigating complaints of discrimination involving sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Knoch is not seeking financial damages.
