Left: North School District Superintendent Michele Hartzell. Right: North East School Board President Nicholas Mobilia (images via North East School District).

An online battle between a Pennsylvania mom and her kids’ school superintendent over first day of school drop-off gone wrong has escalated to a federal lawsuit. Sara Kim, a mother of two whose children attend North East School District in Erie County, said her civil rights were violated when district officials used school surveillance footage to publicly ridicule her after she spoke out about an administrator’s inappropriate parking lot behavior.

According to the complaint filed, Kim was in the process of dropping off her two K-2 age children for the first day of school in August 2023 when, as they exited her car in the drop-off line, the school superintendent, Michele Hartzell, “exited the school doors, frantically waived her arms, and yelled loudly and repeatedly at Kim to move her vehicle forward, despite the fact that Kim’s children were still exiting the vehicle.”

According to Kim, she did move her car once it became safe to do so, and the entire incident was captured by video surveillance cameras located at or around the elementary school.

Kim then took Facebook to post about her frustration with Hartzell’s behavior, titling her post “RANT WARNING.” In the lengthy post, Kim took direct aim at Hartzell, referring to her by name and as “Madame Superintendent.” Kim said that Hartzell’s behavior did not reflect the district’s behavior policies and reminded readers that her small children were carrying $60 in school supplies as they exited her vehicle on the first day of school. Kim noted that it should not be a hard task to remain “sanely intact” or to “manage drop off line with grace” for a person who “chose education as [a] professional pathway.”

Sara Kim Facebook post via court documents

Sara Kim Facebook post via court documents.

Kim also suggested a response to Hartzell.

“Don’t like what I posted?” Kim asked, “then change your tune — change your dynamic — change the morale.”

Hartzell, however, responded in an email directly to the mom of two in which she requested that Kim take down her post and suggested that Kim use “kind words” instead of complaints.

The text of the email, which was included in Kim’s court filing, read as follows:

Good afternoon,

I am respectfully requesting that you remove your negative post from today, specifically the one about me regarding the first day of school. Possibly consider using some kind words such as, “wow, it is nice to see our Superintendent help out.” My team always helps out the first few days of school to ensure all parents/guardians know to move their vehicles all the way up and not stop to ensure a safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up of all our children. We also allow families to pull in to a spot if their child needs some extra time or if parents want to take a picture.

If you have an issue and/or concern in the future, I would ask you to contact me directly. I would never post anything negative about anyone and would appreciate the same respect. Additionally, I would be more than happy to meet with you, as I am always available for our parents, students, and families. It was truly an amazing first day of school for the North East School District.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michele Spurgeon Hartzell, Superintendent North East School District