If true, it’s news to Musser.
Mr Musser was placed on leave when he unearthed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of administrative stipends and payments to consultants that had not been approved by the Board of Education. Some of those expenditures were approved after the fact by the board.
When he reported the stipends to a pair of school board members, Musser says the district retaliated. He was accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment and then placed on administrative leave.
Musser filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the district, Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka, Human Resources Director Doug Flowers, and board member Dennis Snethen. The lawyer handpicked to defend the lawsuit recently withdrew from the case, citing a conflict of interests.
Off the record sources confirm the board voted last week to reinstate Musser, but so far there has been no public acknowledgement of the secret vote, which would appear to be a violation of Missouri’s Sunshine Law.
In his lawsuit, Musser demands that he be given his job back. He says he would still like to return to work for the St Joseph School District. He has not been contacted by the board or the district.
“I’d still like to return to work for the district,” Musser says in an interview, “but no one from the district has contacted me.”
The St Joseph News Press columnist writes in Monday’s edition that the first step in the settlement of Musser’s lawsuit “…would be to reverse the wrongful termination and give Mr. Musser his job back.”
There is lingering doubt in the minds of many people we contacted about whether that’s even possible, given the bad blood generated by the termination and the lawsuit. Musser would not comment on that aspect of his relationship with the district, but insisted that he’d like to return to work there.