Ex-Wall Yearbook Adviser Sues Over Trump T-Shirt Controversy

WALL, NJ — A lawsuit filed by the former Wall High School yearbook adviser alleges a persistent pattern of extreme photo editing that led to the controversy surrounding the editing of a student's Trump T-shirt in the 2016-17 school year yearbook.

Susan Parsons, who was the yearbook adviser during the 2016-17 school year, filed the lawsuit against the Wall Township Board of Education and Superintendent Cheryl Dyer on Monday in Superior Court in Monmouth County, Christopher Eibeler of Smith Eibeler in Holmdel announced in a news release. The lawsuit alleges the extreme photo editing dated back at least two years and that Dyer and the administration "painted a distorted picture of the editing process" that made Parsons the scapegoat and led to her receiving death threats.

Parsons, a teacher at Wall High School, was demoted in the wake of the controversy that arose in June 2017 when the student, Grant Berardo, discovered the altered photo in the yearbook and spoke out about the editing that removed white text reading "TRUMP Make America Great Again" from the front of his black T-shirt. Read more: Censoring Of Wall Teen's Trump T-Shirt In Yearbook Under Investigation

Two other students, Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago and his sister, Montana, complained that changes were made to remove their Trump support — Wyatt, citing a tight crop on his shirt, and Montana that her quote was left out of the book.

In the lawsuit, Parsons alleges she was and continues to be prevented by Dyer and the Wall school board from speaking with the media about the controversy and that "all editing and censoring of yearbook material (was) done at the direction of members of the school administration," the news release on the lawsuit said.

Dyer, in an email Tuesday morning, said neither she nor anyone associated with the district had received or seen the lawsuit, "therefore I cannot comment on the specific content of the suit, at this time."

"I can say that at the time of the incident I conducted a thorough investigation into the matter," Dyer said. "If and when there is a hearing on this matter, information regarding what took place will be made public and I'm confident that when the full facts come to light, all of the actions of this office and the Board of Education will be found to be wholly appropriate."

She said the district contacted its insurance carrier when they learned the lawsuit was going to be filed. "We are awaiting a response from them as to our legal options," Dyer said.

Parsons's lawsuit alleges the district violated her right to free speech.

"While publicizing a false narrative accusing Ms. Parsons of wrongdoing on a politically charged issue, the school imposed an unconstitutional gag order that prevented her from defending her innocence to irate members of the public," Eibeler said. "We have demanded that the gag order be lifted and are awaiting their response."

Parsons's lawsuit alleges that after Berardo and the Dobrovich-Fago siblings complained, "the school began a public disinformation campaign to distance the administration from the controversy" and as a result, she received death threats and harassing messages following the story. Parsons was suspended within days of the controversy surfacing, and removed as yearbook adviser. Read more: Wall Yearbook Adviser Suspended Over Trump T-shirt Censorship

"Plaintiff, who used to regularly take long bike rides, no longer rides her bike because she is afraid someone may attempt to intentionally hit her with a car," the lawsuit notes. "Since her return to school in September 2017, Plaintiff has been disrespected and ridiculed by students and other persons who believe she was responsible for editing the Trump t-shirt in the 2017 yearbook."

Parsons's lawsuit says not only did the administration know about the edits that were made in the 2017 yearbook and years prior, they dictated them, demanding that shirtless students on trips be covered via Photoshop additions of shirts, tattoos removed, and other edits, including the deletion of photos showing students using their phones in school. Parsons also alleges the changes, including the ones that ignited the Trump-related controversy were dictated not by the Wall High School principal, Rosaleen Sirchio, but by Sirchio's secretary, who signed off on the pages for Sirchio.

Parsons alleges she repeatedly spoke out against edits that she felt rose to the level of censorship, to no avail.

The district ended up reprinting a portion of the 2016-17 school year yearbooks that were later picked up by students and their families.

Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Wall Patch on Facebook.