GROVE CITY, PA. Suspended teacher wants his job back

Dan Konnen's attorney said it's a free-speech issue.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- A suspended teacher from Grove City Area School District will present his case for reinstatement and back pay in a Nov. 24 arbitration hearing.
Dan Konnen, 24, of Hermitage, was suspended by the school board in March during his first year as a teacher in the district.
The board action accuses him of "immorality, incompetence, intemperance, persistent negligence and persistent and willful violation of the school laws of the commonwealth." The board voted in April to dismiss him.
That's just "boiler-plate wording" found in the school code listing the circumstances under which a teacher can be dismissed, said Atty. Todd Park of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and Konnen's legal representative in the matter.
Park said the real issue is a Web site Konnen created while a student at Grove City College.
Konnen last updated the site in September 2001 while still in college, Park said.
Some Grove City pupils learned about it, gained access to it and signed the site's guest book, he said.
Grove City officials apparently felt some material on the site wasn't appropriate for their pupils and took action against Konnen, Park said.
It's really a First Amendment free-speech issue, he said.
Content
There was some sophomoric humor on the site dealing with male anatomy and some profanity in a television show excerpt, but mostly it contained photos of Konnen and his friends at band camp and items that Konnen thought were funny and took from other sources, Park said.
School officials have declined to be specific about the details of the case but said complaints about Konnen surfaced in February and a subsequent investigation provided sufficient evidence to suspend him and recommend his dismissal.
Konnen was working as a music teacher at Hillview Intermediate School, which houses grades three through six, at the time and didn't have tenure.
Park said that state-approved arbiter Christopher Miles of Washington, Pa., will hear the case in school district offices Nov. 24 and then give the sides 30 days to file additional legal briefs.
A ruling is expected within another 30 days, he said, speculating that a decision could be handed down in January. That ruling can be appealed to common pleas court by either side, he added.
gwin@vindy.com