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ST. LOUIS COUNTY — The Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education is scheduled to meet Saturday, just days after the district’s superintendent was accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by two school principals.

The , set for 2 p.m., will address legal and personnel matters, according to a notice, and will be closed to the public.

Cedric Gerald, principal of McCluer High until he resigned in June 2023, claimed in a lawsuit filed Monday that Superintendent Joseph Davis would invite Gerald to happy hours and attempt to talk about Gerald’s sex life because Gerald was a gay man, and withheld resources from McCluer High after Gerald declined to provide intimate details.

Gerald’s suit was filed the same day as one by former McCluer North principal Frank Williams, who alleged he was demoted for refusing a sexual advance made by Davis.

Some members of the district’s community have called on the board to cut ties with Davis.

“I’m just really concerned that the school board is not putting him out on leave when there are allegations of sexual misconduct,� said Lisa Everett, a former Ferguson-Florissant teacher, parent and alumna. “If that was a teacher, they would have been out before it even hit the media.�

District officials said they denied the allegations against Davis and looked forward to “vigorously defend itself in court.�

“Although the Board of Education is eager to provide a more detailed response to these allegations, it is limited in doing so at this time because it involves both personnel and legal matters,� the district said in a statement. “The Board can say that it takes any allegations of this nature seriously and works to ensure the allegations are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.

Gerald alleged that Davis routinely invited him to out-of-school locations, such as bars and restaurants, and tried to initiate explicit conversations about his sexual history. Gerald felt obligated to attend the meetings because of Davis’ authority, the suit says.

In April 2021, Davis invited Gerald out for another happy hour and asked him about an interviewee for a position in the district who Gerald knew because the interviewee had been interested in him, Gerald claimed. Davis pressed Gerald for intimate details, which Gerald said he denied. Davis then started to withhold resources and assistance from McCluer High, the suit says.

That fall, several fights broke out among students at McCluer High, one of which left Gerald in a medical boot when he tried to break it up. He was struck in the head during another.

Gerald claimed he asked for assistance multiple times that fall but was accused by Davis of not giving the students due process, the suit says.

In August 2022, Davis sent Gerald news articles about suspensions in the district and suggested the students needed more tools to resolve conflicts. Gerald said he again asked for more resources but was denied.

Ferguson-Florissant had come under fire for its discipline practices around that time. Davis of pulling students out of class and placing them in virtual education for disciplinary reasons without due process. State education regulators later launched an investigation, and the district’s school board implemented new policies to ensure students receive a notice, and hearing, if they’re subject to a long-term suspension.

In September 2022, Gerald told Davis extreme heat at McCluer High was causing students to become unruly. By noon, several fights had broken out and school administrators were begging for help, the suit says. The school closed the next day.

Gerald offered a letter of resignation, but Davis asked him to stay until the conclusion of the school year, the suit says.

Davis refused to meet with Gerald during work hours to discuss struggles at schools despite continuing to invite Gerald to meet outside of school. An attempt to ask the school board for additional resources or aid also didn’t work, the suit claims. Gerald was also required to make monthly safety presentations to the board where he was “taken to task and publicly humiliated� while no white principals were required to do the same, the suit claims.