A public hearing on whether Susan Ehlers will get to keep her job as Perrysville Elementary School principal might not resume until after the school year starts Aug. 27.
The hearing was suspended while arbiter Tim Sheerer underwent surgery. Sheerer has since recovered, but summer scheduling has proven difficult.
So far, meetings for the hearing were conducted April 22, 29 and May 6.Ehlers' attorney, Bruce Bagin, said scheduling witnesses has been too difficult during the summer months.
"Most of the teachers that we would call as witnesses are all over the place. They're working other jobs, they're on vacation. It's a nightmare trying to get everybody together," he said.
Ehlers said she still feels as though she is in limbo.
"It just seems like so long ago since the last hearing," she said. "It's still very disheartening for me to be going through this. I am still so anxious to get back to work. I want to work, and I am still hoping that this can be resolved very soon."
District officials accused Ehlers of falsifying teacher evaluations and allowing her principal's certification to lapse.
Bagin said the allegations against Ehlers are a result of a seizure disorder, which since has been surgically cured.
Tina Vojtko, spokesman for the school district, said the district has done nothing to prolong the proceedings and that district officials are ready to proceed.
"We're waiting for Mr. Bagin. We're ready to go," she said. "Even if (some school board members) are not in town, they have access to the transcripts."Ehlers, 48, of McCandless, called for the public hearing after she was informed Feb. 17 that the district administration planned to ask the school board to fire her.
Ehlers, who suffered from complex-partial seizure disorder and who had been on sick leave since the beginning of the last school year, planned to return to work on a limited basis Feb. 17 but was suspended without pay from her $64,000-a-year job.
Bagin said Ehlers has qualified for unemployment compensation, but district officials have appealed those benefits.
"The bureau granted her unemployment on July 2. And on July 5, the district filed an appeal. A referee will decide whether she left work because of willful misconduct or did they terminate her, in which case, unemployment compensation can be granted," Bagin said. "She's been receiving unemployment compensation since the beginning of the month and will continue until the referee says. I think she's on relatively safe ground (with her compensation)."That compensation is about $400 a week, Bagin said.
"You figure $64,000 is $32 an hour; $400 a week is $10 an hour, so she's taking a substantial cut," Bagin said.
North Hills solicitor Michael Witherel did not return phone messages seeking comment on the appeal.
No date has been set for her hearing to resume.
Elaine Obidowski has been acting as principal at Perrysville Elementary.
