Goodsite sues Norwalk schools about suspected sex, age discrimination

A longtime Norwalk City Schools employee has filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging she was the subject of gender and age discrimination when applying for various jobs.Sue Goodsite, 58, of Norwalk, filed her lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the northern division of Ohio. Representing her is Cleveland attorney Ann Marie Ahern.Goodsite essentially alleges that male candidates were chosen for district positions to which she applied — assistant superintendent and superintendent, noting she was denied the superintendent position twice. According to the lawsuit, she claims she "has been treated less favorably than her similarly situated male and/or younger counterparts."Goodsite is seeking $75,000 "to fully, fairly and justly compensate her for her injuries, damages and losses," according to the lawsuit.Superintendent George Fisk, when the Reflector notified him of the lawsuit, said he hadn't received a copy as of Tuesday afternoon. "I am unable to comment on anything that might be pending litigation," he said. School board president Rob Ludwig also declined to comment."It would be inappropriate for any board member to comment on pending litigation," he said.From 1978 through 2006, Goodsite was employed as a home economics teacher and moved up to an assistant principal and then principal. In 2006, she was promoted from Pleasant Elementary principal — a job she held for 13 years — to the district director of curriculum and instruction. Goodsite served in that position for the next five years.During the 2001-2002 school year, Goodsite applied for an open assistant superintendent position. According to the lawsuit, then-Superintendent Virginia Poling "met with Goodsite and instructed her to withdraw her application because, according to Poling, the decision had already been made by the board to award the position to Michael Gordon."Goodsite withdrew her application "only to later discover that the board had not yet made a decision and that Gordon lacked the proper certification for the position," according to the lawsuit."Nevertheless, Gordon was selected for the position because he was the only remaining applicant," court document states. "In or about April 2008, Goodsite sent a letter to the board and others detailing a litany of ways in which she had been treated differently based on her sex, including, inter alia, discriminatory treatment in the form of lower pay and disregard for her input or participation," according to the lawsuit. "Goodsite immediately encountered resistance to her April 2008 letter and board representatives told her that she had undermined her own career by sending it and that she would be 'wasted in the media.'" In 2009, the board posted the vacant assistant superintendent position that then-Superintendent Wayne Babcanec reportedly "had previously promised to Goodsite," who goes on to allege that Doug Crooks, who was given the job despite allegedly being "substantially less qualified.""Goodsite complained about this, but was later told by then-Superintendent Dennis Doughty … that the board had needed a 'Hatchet Man' and that she 'was no Hatchet Man, '" according to the lawsuit.In 2014, Goodsite applied for the vacant superintendent position and was interviewed twice. According to the lawsuit, "during her second interview, Goodsite was questioned about her prior complaints of sex discrimination."About July 26, 2014, the board notified Goodsite "she had been promoted to superintendent, and that Will Folger, … a male with no in-district experience and lesser qualifications than Goodsite, would be assistant superintendent." However, Folger was hired as the interim superintendent on a one-year contract and Goodsite remained the assistant.By October 2014, the board had begun searching for a superintendent. According to the lawsuit, Goodsite was "exceedingly qualified" for the job, applied again, but reportedly "was told she did not meet the criteria for an interview" and during a board meeting, "one board member stated that Goodsite in fact did meet the criteria to be interviewed but that the board decided not to interview her anyway."Board member Steve Linder, who has been outspoken about the Goodsite-Folger situation, declined to comment on the lawsuit until he had seen it and knew more about its contents.Fisk was hired as the superintendent on a three-year contract, effective Aug. 1, 2015. In explaining the board's selection of Fisk, then-board president John "Lendrum stated: 'The board wanted longevity before retirement' and that the board was 'looking at someone mid-career,'" according to the lawsuit. About April 7, 2015, Goodsite filed a charge of discrimination based on sex, age discrimination and retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission."After the filing of the first charge, the board declined to renew or extend Goodsite's employment contract, thereby terminating her employment with the board," according to the lawsuit.Sue Goodsite