WEST CHESTER, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Five members of the West Chester Area school board, whom a county judge removed from office on Tuesday, will learn their fate at a hearing on Friday.
The order is the result of a petition from parent Beth Ann Rosica, filed in February, which asked the Chester County Court of Common Pleas to kick the Democratic school board members out of office for voting in August 2021 to make masks mandatory in West Chester Area School District schools.
In his order, Judge William Mahon said that, because the attorney representing the board members had failed to respond within the required 20-day time frame, he issued a procedural ruling to remove board President Sue Tiernan, Joyce Chester, Dr. Kate Shaw, Dr. Karen Herrmann and Daryl Durnell from the board.
The board members’ lawyer, Kenneth Roos, in response filed a motion to reconsider, saying the 20-day time frame had not yet passed, and won’t until Monday.
Related
While Rosica claims the clock should have started when she filed the lawsuit, Roos says the order Mahon signed on March 15, giving his clients 20 days to file a response, means the deadline would be April 4.
Roos wants the court to reinstate the school board members and give them until April 4 to file their response to the petition.
The final determination will be up to Mahon, with a potential appeal to Commonwealth Court, depending on the ruling.
Related
