BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Bethlehem Area School District and its former superintendent have agreed to pay an assistant principal $35,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit by the district employee.
The Bethlehem Area School Board voted to approve the settlement earlier this week.
Liberty High School Assistant Principal Antonio Traca filed the lawsuit, alleging then-chief of schools Joe Roy physically abused him and caused emotional distress during an encounter at a high school football game in 2022.
According to the agreement, Traca received $27,000 and $8,000 went to his attorney George Kounoupis’ law firm. Traca agreed under the settlement to release the district and Roy from any future claims.
Traca filed a federal lawsuit in Aprilthat claimed Roy punched him in the chest and cursed at him during an Easton-Liberty high school football game at BASD Stadium on Oct. 14, 2022, as Traca tried to break up a fight among students.
In a July court hearing, school district lawyer John Freund described Roy as shoving or pushing Traca. He said Roy may have displayed “overzealousness or thoughtlessness, but certainly not malicious or sadistic [actions].”
“Per district policy, any retaliation or harassment of Mr. Traca will not be tolerated,”BASD Solicitor Donald Spry
Before the school board voted on the settlement Monday, district solicitor Donald Spry made it clear the assistant principal was still a district employee, with all benefits and rights.
“Per district policy, any retaliation or harassment of Mr. Traca will not be tolerated,” he said.
After the settlement was reached, a federal court judge dismissed the case with prejudice in September, which meant the lawsuit could not be refiled. The parties had 90 days to come to a final agreement.
Traca's lawyers had argued Roy touching him constituted a seizure of his person, which violated his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights.
The federal court judge dismissed the first complaint because he said there were not civil rights violations. But he allowed them to file an amended complaint, which they did.
The school district attempted to get that complaint dismissed as well before entering in settlement negotiations.
The school district and Roy disputed that Roy reasonably foresaw that the “brief touching” of Traca would violate his civil rights or that Roy intentionally planned to restrain him in a way to constitute a seizure.
Kounoupis had said Traca would consider appealing to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals if they lost at the district level. They also discussed filing a lawsuit in state court.
The school board hired retiredJudge Emil Giordano to do an independent investigation of the incident late last year. The board approved paying Giordano $495 an hour, for a total of about $12,000 in taxpayer funding.
The findings, delivered in February, were kept secret from the public.
Roy, who led Bethlehem schools for 13 years, announced his retirement in March and worked his last day in July. He has said his retirement was not related to the allegations.
