Gay principal accuses school board members of faking ‘grooming’ claims to fire him

A gay Wisconsin principal is suing his former school district, alleging that members of the school board fabricated allegations of inappropriate conduct with children as a pretext to force him out because he is gay.

Jeffrey Peterson became principal of Raymond School in 2021, but according to a lawsuit filed against the district and several individuals, a campaign against him began after a contentious 2022 school board election brought several candidates to power who were backed by organisations that advocate for traditional and conservative values.

The lawsuit alleges that board members Gwen Keller and Janell Wise, who won seats in the Raymond school board election that year, were affiliated with Moms for Liberty (an American political organisation that advocates against school curricula that mention LGBTQ rights, critical race theory, and discrimination).

Peterson says that, following their election, the board gave an unelected “political operative”, Arthur Binhack, unusually broad access to scrutinise the school’s policies, teachers and staff.

Peterson also alleges that interim superintendent Michael Garvey made comments about LGBTQ+ teachers during the autumn of 2022 that were effectively warnings that Peterson’s sexual orientation was a problem. After 29 years working in Wisconsin schools and receiving no previous poor performance evaluations, Peterson says Garvey gave him his first and only poor evaluation after just 34 days working alongside him. Garvey was part-time and worked only two days per week.

Peterson alleges the campaign escalated in 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Binhack distributed flyers accusing Peterson of bringing “liberal extremists” into the community and later encouraged residents to support his removal in a September 2023 social media post.

The suit alleges that Binhack also coordinated with Kari Morgan and Racine County Moms for Liberty vice chair Joann Koenecke on an open-records request targeting Peterson.

Peterson claims the group then “manipulated” the records it received and distributed them to the public and media. Among the materials, the lawsuit alleges, was an anonymous letter falsely claiming that Peterson was being investigated for “inappropriate conduct with children.”

The complaint alleges that the letter was actually written by Morgan, Keller, Kostuch and another school board member, Amanda Falaschi.

At a subsequent public meeting, Kostuch, Wise, Keller and Falaschi voted not to renew Peterson’s contract. Board member Amy Helvick opposed the move, saying Peterson was not being “fairly or accurately assessed”.

In early May 2024, Peterson says he was placed on unpaid leave for the remainder of his tenure. His attorneys argue that this effectively amounted to a termination that violated his contract.

Peterson argues that the allegations against him were a fabricated pretext for discrimination based on his sexual orientation, writing that the campaign included false performance claims, allegations of paedophilia and other “fictitious accusations”.

The defendants, however, maintain that Peterson’s contract decision was based on the findings of a misconduct investigation conducted by the law firm Stadler Sacks, LLC. Peterson’s lawsuit argues that the investigation was biased and that the report relied in part on his exercise of free speech as justification for adverse employment actions.

Peterson had previously filed discrimination complaints with Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the lawsuit, he is still awaiting a decision from the state agency.

He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has requested a jury trial.

These allegations come from Peterson’s lawsuit and have not yet been proven in court.

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