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ORGANTINI v. METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT et al

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA CYNTHIA MANDERACH ORGANTINI, Plaintiff, v. : : : : : : : : : : CIVIL ACTION

NO. 06-02213

METHACTON SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM STENGEL, J. February 6, 2008

Cynthia Organtini, a former cafeteria employee of the Methacton School District, brought this employment action against Methacton and certain of its employees. The defendants moved for summary judgment. After hearing oral argument on the defendants' motions, and for the reasons outlined below, I will grant summary judgment on all counts, dismissing the plaintiff's complaint. I. B ACKGROUND Cynthia Organtini claims that her termination from employment at the Methacton School District violated her Fourteenth Amendment procedural and substantive due process rights, and that Methacton officials hurt her reputation by acts of slander during and after her termination. Organtini was an employee of Methacton for a total of eleven (11) years. She was hired in 1994 as a general helper, and worked as a cashier at the

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Arcola Intermediate School from 1995 until 1999. In 1999, Organtini became the assistant cook at the Methacton High School ("MHS"), and shortly thereafter became the MHS cafeteria manager, the position she held through the events of April-June of 2005, which spawned this litigation. As part of her position as cafeteria manager, plaintiff was responsible for handling cafeteria money, including both bank deposits and petty cash. Ms. Organtini claims to have repeatedly expressed concern over the security of the cafeteria money, asking her supervisor, Todd Holmes, to purchase a safe, and suggesting that the locks on the cafeteria office doors be changed. The parties dispute the actions taken in response to these concerns, and the forcefulness of the plaintiff's efforts to boost security. On April 26, 2005, Ms. Organitini discovered that approximately $500 was missing from the MHS cafeteria manager's office. The next day, Ms. Organtini's supervisor, Paula Germinario, issued a "written warning" admonishing Ms. Organtini for leaving money unattended in her unlocked office and informing her that future incidents of the kind could lead to "further disciplinary action up to and including termination." (Def. Ex. A, p. 62, deposition Ex. 4.) Several further incidents of theft followed in the next two months. On May 26, 2005, Ms. Organtini reported that approximately $100 of "petty cash" was missing from her office. On June 6, 2005, $260 in "starter roll money" was taken from a cashier's bag. And, finally, on June 9, 2005, a bank deposit bag containing over $2,300 was stolen from

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Organtini's desk drawer. Prior to the June 9, 2005 incident, MHS had issued a directive changing the money safeguarding procedures, requiring plaintiff to bring the cafeteria money to the School District's central administration office in the Farina Building. Following the last incident on June 9, 2005, Organtini was suspended for the remainder of the school year (3 days) with pay, and escorted out of the building by Germinario and possibly other administrative officials.1 Organtini has never been accused of committing any of the thefts. In her statement of facts, she avers that the Facility Supervisor, Dennis McCall, told her that if a thief was not found, the school would assume that Organtini stole the money. After Organtini left the building on June 9, 2005, she claims that defendant Dr. Jeffrey Miller, the Superintendent of Methacton, insinuated that Organtini was responsible for the thefts. Miller was allegedly confronted by co-workers of the plaintiff and questioned about unfair treatment. In reply, Miller asked the other employees, "How do you know it's not Cindy?" Organtini also claims that defendant Elizabeth Whalen (a co-worker) "disseminated false accusations against Plaintiff's character, telling fellow employees that Plaintiff was being investigated by the school District and that Plaintiff often left money laying around the office." On June 10, 2005, Miller sent a letter to Organtini, informing her of her right to a Organtini claims she was escorted by "administrative officials while the Pennsylvania State Police were present in the cafeteria area." 3
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hearing. Organtini replied requesting a hearing, which was set for August 25, 2005. According to the defendants' Statement of Undisputed Facts, Organtini met with Miller on June 14, 2005, to discuss the reasons for her suspension. That meeting is referenced in a letter from Miller to Organtini dated June 23, 2005, which was written in response to her June 22, 2005 letter (through counsel) requesting a hearing on termination. After a series of communications between plaintiff's counsel and Methacton (through its solicitor, Charles Sweet), Methacton sent a letter on July 11, 2005, offering "in lieu of a dismissal" to transfer Organtini to the position of Elementary Cafeteria Manager at the Audubon Elementary School. Organtini rejected this position, due to a longstanding physical condition, fibromyalgia, that prevented her from performing the functions of the job. Methacton then sent Organtini a letter informing her that the August 25, 2005 hearing on termination would be cancelled and that Miller would recommend to the Board of School Directors that Organtini be demoted and transferred to a cashier's position at the Arcola School cafeteria. The Board voted to act on Miller's recommendation on August 23, 2005, at a public meeting, and Miller sent a letter informing Organtini of the decision on August 24, 2005. Ms. Organtini never reported to the job at Arcola. According to the plaintiff, this position was not only a demotion, but under the school's collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") it was a union position, which had to be filled on the basis of seniority in the union. Ms. Organtini did have seniority at the time. Ms. Organtini protested her transfer

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in a letter through counsel and requested a "full hearing before the Board to properly determine [her] employment status with the Methacton School District." Methacton responded that Organtini was not entitled to a hearing under the School Code because she had not been terminated. On September 27, 2005, the Board terminated Organtini from the Arcola position for abandoning her duties. Ms. Organtini does not dispute the grounds for her September 27, 2005 termination from the Arcola position. The complaint contains four counts: (1) a 42 U.S.C.

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