RIDGWAY — A former Ridgway school teacher has filed a federal lawsuit against the district, alleging age discrimination and unfair treatment she says was an attempt by higher-ups to force her out.

The lawsuit filed by Pamela Lynch, 58, in an Erie federal court last month seeks a jury trial and damages, along with back or front wages and benefits.

She alleges that as a 20-plus year employee of the district, she began experiencing a series of “undeserved disciplinary actions” in 2011 that qualify as discrimination. State and federal laws forbid age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older.

Lynch, in a complaint filed by her lawyer, said she was disciplined for behavior that younger teachers were not, including leaving work early, using their cell phones at work and having students independently work outside the classroom door.

Lynch said she believed the actions were either motivated by or a result of her age and filed an administrative complaint. She adds that when she refused a settlement offer from the district she was suspended without pay in retaliation in June of 2013, ultimately leading to her ouster.

Current Ridgway Area School District administrators declined to comment on the case when reached by The Era.

Lynch in speaking to The Era said the suit is as much about financial restitution as it is about righting a wrong.

She also disputes characterizations of her as a poor educator, saying she was “all about” the school and her students and routinely went above and beyond for them.

Lynch’s suit also alleges she isn’t alone, rather the latest in a pattern of age-based discrimination at the hands of former district officials.

Her lawsuit cites another 58-year-old teacher who “was forced from her position” and replaced with a 28-year-old in 2013. Lynch said another teacher, age 60 at the time, was transferred from a sixth grade assignment to fifth grade and eventually first grade “in retaliation for informing the (former) superintendent that she would tell the truth about anything she was asked about the plaintiff (Lynch).”

Attempts to contact one of the teachers named was unsuccessful Tuesday.

The other declined to speak on the record.

Federal court dockets list no other age discrimination-based legal action taken against the district in the past, although at least one former faculty member provided similar accounts or end results to those being claimed by Lynch.

In her suit, Lynch also notes that the experience led her to file complaints with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and Equal Opportunity Employment Commission alleging discrimination and retaliation, adding the latter organization mailed a notice of her “right to sue” in May of this year.

While Lynch’s resulting lawsuit does cite a series of unsatisfactory performance reviews of her in which she’s labeled for “not being rigorous,” not getting along with students and teachers and refusing to follow the rules, Lynch argues the evaluations were done while she was on medical leave or not teaching and therefore invalid or improper.