ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Rockingham County School Board is asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the former principal of Peak View Elementary School.

Joseph Kapuchuck filed the lawsuit after he was fired in August 2024, claiming it was in retaliation for testifying on behalf of a former teacher, who was acquitted of child cruelty and abduction charges.

In motions filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, the board and Superintendent Larry Shifflett argued that Kapuchuck lost his job because he failed to report suspected abuse.

Incidentally, former board chair Matthew Cross filed a separate motion, stating that he abstained from the termination vote but Kapuchuck’s lawsuit claims Cross threatened fellow board members if they did not vote to fire him.