Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Central Bucks School Board member Rick Haring recused himself when the board dealt with matters relating to complaint his wife filed.
A Philadelphia judge declared a mistrial this week after a jury said it could not reach a unanimous decision in a discrimination case alleging the Central Bucks School District underpaid female teachers, a violation of the Equal Pay Act.
Following six days of testimony and more than two hours of deliberations, the jury’s foreperson told U.S. District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson the jury of six men and two women were “split.”
The first case was filed in 2020 by English teacher Rebecca Cartee-Haring. She is the wife of Central Bucks School Board member Rick Haring, who has recused himself in matters related to the lawsuit.
A second teacher — Dawn Marinello — filed a discrimination case in 2021. The court permitted consolidation of the cases and certified a collective action. That allowed Central Bucks women teachers dating back to 2000 to “opt in” to the lawsuit.
The teachers’ attorney — Ed Mazurek — can ask for a retrial or both sides could discuss with their attorneys if they want to seek a settlement.
Previous court-ordered settlement conferences failed to reach an agreement. Last year the district rejected a $119 million settlement offer by Mazurek. An offer in June from the plaintiffs to settle for a $151 million lump sum payment was also rebuffed.
During the trial, the judge instructed the jury if it found one example of a male teacher who received more favorable treatment than a female teacher, it could conclude evidence of discrimination. However, additional questions would also need to be addressed to determine the school district guilty.
The jury did not need to find the discrimination to be intentional to find guilt, but it did need to find “willful disregard,” Baylson told the jury in his instructions.
According to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a juror told one of the teachers that the jury was split 6-2 in favor of the women.
School board president Karen Smith commented earlier this year that the school district could not afford a $100 million deal. She also said she did not believe the district “had a pattern of discrimination.”
After the July 30 mistrial, the district issued a statement, saying, “The district asserted and continues to assert that no employees are compensated differently based on sex or any other factor related to their identity,” a point its Montgomery County attorney Michael Levin also made during the trial.
“We have conducted a comprehensive review of 1,100 men and women (teachers) and it is clear there was no unlawful discrimination based on gender or other protected class,” said Levin in earlier comments.
At the center of the far-reaching case were teachers’ claims that personnel records show numerous female teachers were improperly placed on lower steps (levels) of the salary scale than their male counterparts.
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