Controversial Norwin director faces censure vote again over graphic social media language

A controversial Norwin school director faces a possible censure vote and a demand to resign Monday over language deemed offensive toward fellow board members in his online publication.

Director Alex Detschelt, a Republican, is being targeted for censure for his Jan. 24 post on his Substack page. The resolution before the board says that he “made comments which are not consistent with the district’s core shared values and principles of responsible leadership.” The resolution characterizes the comments as “of a graphic sexual nature related to one or more of his fellow female and male school board directors” and “highly offensive in nature.”

The resolution does not specify his targets, and Detschelt does not name them individually in his Substack post.

The resolution also demands Detschelt apologize to the board and the community for the language he used in his post and that he immediately resign from the board. His page on Substack, an online platform for individual publishing, is called “Behind Groomer Lines.”

The Norwin School Board meeting agenda, posted online, lists the resolution under Personnel as No. 2025-2.

Reacting to the motion to censure him, Detschelt called it retaliation against a private citizen’s right to free speech.

“Anyone who has voted ‘yes’ for this censure has violated their oath to the United States and Pennsylvania Constitution they took when they became board members,” Detschelt told TribLive.

Detschelt said language on his Substack is “on my personal blog and is constitutionally protected satirical speech. … If someone doesn’t like my speech, they can exercise their right to not read it.”

The critical comments from Detschelt were part of his complaints against the board majority that last month selected a potential design for the renovations of the Norwin Knights stadium that is estimated to cost $24.6 million.

If the board acts to censure him, Detschelt said Sunday, he would file a supplement to his existing federal lawsuit against the school district and former Norwin superintendent Jeff Taylor for censuring him in November 2022. In that case, he posted a meme in a private political social media account that characterized then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman with an expletive and a derisive term for a person suffering from mental health problems. If the judge wants the new lawsuit in a separate case, Detschelt said he would do that.

That lawsuit, which Detschelt refiled in January, has yet to be resolved in federal court in Pittsburgh. Detschelt claimed he was a victim of retaliation for exercising his First Amendment rights as a private citizen when he was not in his official capacity as a board member.

In another agenda item for Monday’s meeting, the school board will consider hiring the Pittsburgh law firm of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer LLP as special legal counsel at the hourly rates of $225 per hour for partners, $185 per hour for associates and $100 per hour for paralegals. Detschelt said that move was in response to a complaint filed against him by a fellow board member over his actions.

This is the second time in the past five years that the school board has sought the resignation of one of its members over statements on social media.

The school board in September 2020 failed in a 6-3 vote to pass a resolution asking that Robert Wayman resign over his social media statements and failed to censure him as well.

Wayman came under fire for writing, on a private political blog, that covid restrictions were the “Gold Star of David coming to the mask wearers sooner than they realize,” a reference to the requirement in Nazi Germany that Jews wear a yellow Star of David on their clothing.

Wayman, who also wrote that “Democrats are not Christian,” lost his bid for reelection in 2023.

Attorney Russell Lucas, who remains as board solicitor, told the school directors when they were considering the vote on seeking Wayman’s resignation that the board has no authority to force Wayman to resign for exercising his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

“In all candor, this board has very limited options as to what it can do,” Lucas told the directors after a lengthy explanation on reasons a school board member can be removed from office.