Pennsylvania Daybook

Union representing faculty sets strike date, talks continue

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A mother of two who swore at a western Pennsylvania school board has been found not guilty of disorderly conduct. Forty-one-year-old Johanna Boratko appealed her conviction by a district judge stemming from a March 1 Greater Johnstown School Board meeting. She acknowledges using the f-word because she was upset about what she felt was a lack of action about bullying. Her attorney, Timothy Burns, says her language — while inappropriate — wasn't illegal. And on Friday a Cambria County judge who heard her appeal earlier this month agreed. The judge found it couldn't be proven that Boratko intended to cause "inconvenience, annoyance or alarm." The judge also says using the f-word isn't "obscene" under the statute unless it's used in a sexual context. The school district didn't immediately comment.

Woman who swore at meeting not guilty of disorderly conduct