HOLLIDAYSBURG — A grievance claim filed by the teachers union and denied by the Hollidaysburg Area School District board Wednesday night will be hashed out in Blair County Court.

In a unanimous vote, the board denied Hollidaysburg Area Education Association’s claim that the district had violated the union’s collective bargaining agreement by appealing a third-party arbitrator’s decision. The issue seemingly stems from an incident in 2022 in which junior high teacher Nicole Stouffer brought the book “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe into her classroom.

The district reportedly conducted an internal investigation into the matter in 2023 and subsequently disciplined Stouffer. The details of that discipline have not been disclosed.

Board member Michele Luther addressed Stouffer directly before the vote, saying that “assumption and speculation are the two killers of communication.”

“I clearly want to communicate to Ms. Stouffer, her friends, anyone else in the school, that this is not about anything personal,” Luther said. “We do not care how she spends her off-teaching hours.”

HAEA president Mike Rawlins said the union was disappointed with the district’s decision to appeal the arbitration decision.

“It’s a ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars,” Rawlins said. “You heard some bloviating by some board members tonight that was taken completely out of context.”

Board member Missy Sullivan said the funds wouldn’t have been spent if the “actions hadn’t taken place.” She said the district was only doing its job in regard to disciplining the teacher.

The third-party arbitrator found that the district had no reason to discipline Stouffer, Rawlins said.

According to Rawlins, the district’s response to Stouffers action “created conflict … that led to disruptions for our students.”

He also noted the legal fees for pursuing the case further, questioning “how that money could be spent around the district.” According to Rawlins, HASD has spent an estimated $10,000 on legal fees to district solicitor Carl Beard through the duration of the arbitration process.

“Thousands have been wasted,” Rawlins said, that could have been put to better use throughout the district.

According to Beard, the grievance petition will now be heard in the Blair County Court of Common Pleas, where it will be briefed and argued before the court.

The district chose to appeal the initial arbitration decision — and deny the grievance petition — because administrators “don’t believe the arbitrator got it right as it relates to the conduct and action that was subject to the arbitration,” Beard said.

Beard also said he does not know what the final cost of the legal fees for the arbitration will be, since they have not finished with the process.

“The board believes it (the initial decision) violates public policy, we didn’t violate the contract, and therefore the board believes the grievance should be denied the second time around,” Beard said.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.