Attorney for woman who filed harassment claim against Mark Coscarella requests apology

This story has been updated to correct the location of the Nov. 12 Lansing School District superintendent search input session.

LANSING — The Lansing School District’s former leader called a woman who brought a sexual harassment claim against acting Superintendent Mark Coscarella “troubled” and said she was seeking attention. The woman’s attorney wants an apology.   

Kelly McClintock, an attorney with Grewal Law, asked for an apology from any members of the Lansing Board of Education for comments made to the Lansing State Journal by former Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul, board President Rachel Willis and Treasurer Gabrielle Lawrence defending acting Superintendent Mark Coscarella.

Grewal Law represents Casey Sterle, a Leslie School District teacher who was an intern in 2000 at Holt's Elliott Elementary School. She has said that Coscarella, then a teacher, locked her in his first-grade classroom, shut the blinds, stripped down to his underwear and danced in front of her, asking her also to strip. 

He has denied the allegations. In an interview with the Lansing State Journal, Caamal Canul said Sterle was seeking "15 minutes of fame." Willis and Lawrence, commenting for the same article, offered support for Coscarella. 

The law firm said the statements are “sexist, perpetuate victim-blaming and have no place in our community of healing” in a statement released Thursday morning.

“I’m here to stand by everything that was stated in that press release,” McClintock told the school board at its Thursday evening meeting. “I’m also here to accept an apology from any board members that are willing to give that this evening.”

None of the board members met the request. And none addressed the allegations, except Willis. Before the meeting concluded, she warned board members to send requests for comment through her or district spokesperson Bob Kolt.

Willis said the district is conducting its own investigation into the allegation, but declined to elaborate or answer additional questions after the meeting.

“I absolutely appreciate and understand that there’s a lot of concern,” she said. “The board is doing due diligence to look into the issues.”

Sterle first went to police after she heard Coscarella was accused of letting Holt High School students watch pornography on a baseball team trip in 2002. That controversy led to his resignation from Holt.

She sent a copy of the police report to the Lansing Board of Education in July. She said she fears Coscarella will abuse his power should he be tapped as the next superintendent.

Coscarella previously issued a statement denying the allegation, but he did not address it at the meeting Thursday.

For the second straight night, residents lined up behind a microphone to voice their concerns about the district's superintendent search. Some are unhappy that the board chose an internal search rather than national search for Caamal Canul’s successor, while others were upset that Coscarella is being considered.

Almost two dozen people voiced their concerns Wednesday night at a forum organized by the Michigan Association of School Boards that was planned to let residents talk about what traits they want in the district’s next superintendent.

Jennie Gios, holding her infant daughter while reading a statement from her cellphone, questioned why Coscarella wasn’t placed on administrative leave while the investigation unfolds.

“With him not being on administrative leave, to me signals the district is not providing a culture for employees, students, the public to come forward if they have something to share,” said Gios, a Lansing resident.

She also said Caamal Canul’s statements were out-of-touch and insensitive.

Talib Cornelius expressed frustration that the board is letting Coscarella stay in his position. He encouraged Coscarella to “do the right thing” and resign. Trustees should fire him if he doesn’t, Cornelius said.  

“You have said and shown … that you don’t care about the children,” he said. “What kind of message are you sending?”

There will be another input session at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Wainwright Conference Room at 4200 Wainwright Ave. in Lansing, hosted by the Michigan Association of School Boards.

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Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.