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Our Opinion: Stop school bullies in their tracks; these resources can help to set the right tone

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Lyndwood building in Hanover Township fully reborn for first day of school

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Pennsylvania State Education Association objected to Stephen Stahl&#8217;s wrongful termination lawsuit in a deliberate attempt to bully the former Coughlin administrator and hike up the cost of his legal fees, Stahl alleged in court documents filed Monday.</p><p>The school district suspended Stahl, 49, of Hunlock Creek, on Feb. 7, 2014 and fired him the following month amid a sex scandal involving a 16-year-old student. He was paroled after serving a little over six months on a corruption of minors conviction.</p><p>Stahl claimed in a complaint filed in July that the school district breached his contract when he was given a &#8220;bogus&#8221; Loudermill hearing the day of his suspension without his or a union member&#8217;s presence.</p><p>The former dean of students and wrestling coach alleged the PSEA, the state branch of the nation&#8217;s largest teacher&#8217;s union, failed to represent him or force the district to hold a proper Loudermill hearing, a due process given to a public employee before their employer moves to terminate them.</p><p>In their objections filed earlier this month, the defendants&#8217; lawyers argued the complaint should be thrown out in its entirety because it fails to include multiple documents required by law, including a signed verification, a notice to defend and several writings referenced in the filing.</p><p>Stahl&#8217;s lawyer, New Jersey-based attorney Edward F. Bezdecki, argues the objections should be dismissed without merit because they were filed &#8220;solely for harassment against (Stahl) and to drive up (Stahl&#8217;s) legal fees.&#8221;</p><p>Stahl affirmed the alleged harassment in court documents filed with his lawyer&#8217;s response Monday.</p><p>&#8220;The facts contained in the preliminary objections are false and done merely to harass me,&#8221; he says in the document.</p><p>The ex-administrator seeks $137,884 in damages.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Stahl </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Stahl-Stephen-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Stahl </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Stahl: Objections to wrongful termination lawsuit meant ‘to harass me’