Former Upper St. Clair school Superintendent James Lombardo felt so much pressure from certain school board members who were trying to eliminate the district's International Baccalaureate program in 2006 that he filed a formal complaint accusing them of violating the district's anti-harassment policy and code of ethics.

It is clear from court documents released yesterday that Dr. Lombardo, an award-winning Vermont educator, left Upper St. Clair last fall to accept a job in Eastern Pennsylvania because working conditions in the district had become unbearable.

In a confidential memo, Dr. Lombardo said he was subjected to abusive behavior and disrespectful tirades and at times felt physically threatened.

"Since November 2005, four members of the school board have created a hostile and intimidating work place for others and me," Dr. Lombardo wrote on March 9, 2006, several days after he filed a formal complaint against school board members who had hired him.

He identified the four as Dr. William Sulkowski, Carol Coliane, David Bluey and Dr. Mark Trombetta. They, plus Dr. Daniel Iracki, form a five-member majority that came into power in January 2006 and voted in February 2006 to eliminate the IB program.

Their action spawned a lawsuit by a group of township parents who claimed, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, that the board's decision was political retaliation and because the program did not promote Judeo-Christian values.

The IB program was reinstated for two years as part of a settlement of the lawsuit and now is undergoing a curriculum review to see whether it should be retained.

Yesterday, Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. denied the Upper St. Clair School District's request to keep Dr. Lombardo's deposition, taken last year, under a protective order.

Last month, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit moved to make the deposition and other court papers public to counter comments routinely made about the case by Dr. Trombetta and other board members at school board meetings, in news articles and in e-mails with township residents.

Reached last night, Dr. Trombetta said the action before Judge Wettick was another example of politics being initiated by residents who disagree with the board majority, which is determined to hold the line on property taxes.

"This is the political season. There is no mystery why this is coming out now," said Dr. Trombetta, adding that he is not seeking a third term on the school board.

Dr. Lombardo resigned last year in the fourth year of his five-year contract to accept a job as superintendent of Bensalem School District in suburban Philadelphia.

He supported the IB program, which is coordinated through the International Baccalaureate Organization, based in Switzerland, and offers a global view in education.

In the court documents, Dr. Lombardo said Dr. Trombetta and Mr. Bluey offered him what he believed was a "quid pro quo" if he would not actively support retention of the IB program.

Dr. Lombardo said the two board members indicated that the majority would work to get raises for administrators and secretaries and find funds to support his efforts to "put in place an Asian studies and international studies program and beef up an [advanced placement] program if I mildly supported IB and openly supported moving in another direction with their ideas."

"Both asserted that this offer is not a 'quid pro quo,' but to me, it sure felt like it," Dr. Lombardo said in a confidential memo.

Reached yesterday, both Mr. Bluey and Dr. Trombetta said there was never a "quid pro quo."