PITTSBURGH - A history of problems with the Gateway School District has culminated in a lawsuit brought by a woman alleging she was retaliated against for her social media activities.
Allyson Calloway filed a lawsuit in July in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County against the Gateway School District and several individuals, including Superintendent Dr. William Short and security guards identified as Adam Doe and Beth Doe.
The complaint alleges multiple violations of her First Amendment rights, physical assault, battery, excessive force, and other civil rights infringements stemming from incidents involving her children at school and her own treatment at a school event.
Troubles began in 2017 when Calloway's daughter was beaten at recess while a kindergartener. She turned down an interview with the media with the agreement her daughter would be allowed to attend Ramsay Elementary School.
In 2020, Calloway took to social media to criticize the governments of Pitcairn and Monroeville, among others, for police misconduct. In 2022, an unknown male was allowed to enter Ramsay and recorded girls in the restroom, including Calloway's daughter, the suit says.
She again used her social media accounts to complain, this time about Gateway. Problems at the school continued to May 19, 2023, when her daughter was graduating the elementary school. There, she says she was told to leave, while on crutches, then dragged out by her leg.
The lawsuit alleges injuries from this altercation.
Calloway claims that these actions were retaliatory due to her public criticisms of government authorities on social media. She seeks both economic and non-economic compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and an injunction against disparate treatment.
Marty Harris of The Trial Law Firm represents the plaintiff.