Romney-shirt girl gives up on Philly schools

Thu, Oct. 11, 2012

Samantha Pawlucy speaks with the media outside her high school along with her father, Richard. Supporters of Samantha Pawlucy, a student at Charles Carroll High School in Philadelphia, gathered outside the school to show support for the teen as she returned to school for the first time on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Pawlucy was allegedly singled out by a teacher for wearing a Mitt Romney T-shirt to school. ( ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER )

SAMANTHA PAWLUCY, the Port Richmond teen embroiled in a high school controversy over her T-shirt choice, will no longer attend Charles Carroll High School, her attorney and her father confirmed Wednesday.

"She's totally uncomfortable. She doesn't want to go back there," said Richard Pawlucy, the student's father. He and his wife, Kristine, also pulled their two other daughters from the school.

Samantha wore a pink Romney/Ryan T-shirt to Carroll High on "Dress Down Day" nearly two weeks ago. Her geometry teacher, Lynette Gaymon, asked her to leave the class and wondered why she was wearing a Republican top at a "Democratic" school, according to the student.

The Pawlucys want to enroll the girls at "anything that's not associated with the School District of Philadelphia," Richard Pawlucy said.

Kristine Pawlucy told Larry Mendte on his WWIQ-FM (106.9) show that she felt "betrayed" by, among others, district superintendent William R. Hite and Mayor Nutter.

Richard Pawlucy said his ideal destination for his kids is a charter school.

That might be a tall order. The new school year is already a month old and most charters accept students through a lottery system.

State Rep. John Taylor, who counts the Pawlucys as constituents, is acting as an intermediary with the district and helping the family land a school. It's "a very difficult process for anyone," he said.

Taylor said he spoke Wednesday afternoon with Hite, who was "perfectly willing to cooperate."

Hite told Taylor the family can get him a list of the public schools they'd consider, the state rep said.

"It sounds great, but we were already burned once by Dr. Hite," Richard Pawlucy said. "I don't think we want that."

A disciplinary hearing is scheduled this week for Gaymon, school district spokesman Fernando Gallard said.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News