A former member of the Hillendale PTO has filed a civil action against the organization, school Principal Steve Dissinger, and PTO co-president Jennifer Scattolino.
Kathleen Carmody, a former co-vice president of the PTO, filed the papers in Chester County Court of Common Pleas earlier this summer. She alleges improprieties with an election held this past spring in violation of state law.
Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Superintendent John Sanville called the suit “specious and without merit” when the subject came up during the Sept. 19 school board meeting, saying Dissinger’s character is “unimpeachable.”
“The good name of an exemplary principal is at stake, along with PTO volunteers. Steve Dissinger is a man of utmost integrity. He is respected by his peers and loved by the community he serves,” Sanville said.
School Board John Murphy said he has complete trust and confidence in Dissinger, and Board President Vic Dupuis also praised the principal.
“Steve is a great man to be part of our leadership team,” Dupuis said, adding that Dissinger can rely on the full support of the board.
Carmody — who used her professional name Tobia in the lawsuit — alleges that Dissinger inserted himself as a “de facto member” of the PTO board and that he and Scattolino held an improper election that left her, Carmody, off the PTO board. She said in the court records that not everyone was allowed to vote, calling it a “board-packing conspiracy.”
Al Iacocca, the attorney representing the PTO and Scattolino, said in a telephone interview that, according to PTO bylaws, only current board members — not the entire membership — vote for next year’s board. Because of that, Scattolino wasn’t involved in the election. Carmody, however, was.
“[Carmody] voted in that election. She got one vote…She thinks she’s entitled to something, but she’s not. That’s what this is all about. Somebody wasn’t happy with the results and filed a lawsuit,” Iacocca said.
Also, according to the complaint, Dissinger had a problem with Carmody stemming from her suggestions about improving school security. She said Dissinger turned her down, but the district directed Dissinger to implement one of the changes she advocated.
“…based on information and reasonable belief, defendant Dissinger had an axe to grind with [Carmody] from that point forward,” the complaint reads.
The complaint lists other allegations of impropriety, that Dissinger took gifts from the PTO and that the PTO collected sales taxes at book sales when it could have filed an exemption. Neither Carmody nor Dissinger’s attorney could be reached for comment.
Carmody is asking the court to order another election without Dissinger’s involvement and to order Dissinger and Scattolino to pay her court costs. Carmody also wants Scattolino barred from serving on the PTO board and wants new bylaws written.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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