A federal judge has ruled that Mercer Area School District did not discriminate against a teaching candidate.

The judge added that while animosity between the candidate, Eldon N. Watson III, and then-elementary school principal Dr. Michelle Rhule might have caused him to stop being called to substitute teach, Watson could not show that he suffered any harm for which he could be compensated.

Watson, 52, of East Lackawannock Township, sued the district, Dr. Rhule and former superintendent Dr. Lawrence R. Connelly claiming he was passed over for a full-time job because of his age and his gender, and that officials retaliated against him when he complained.

The district has maintained that it did not discriminate against him and that it did not hire him because there were better candidates.

“The ruling clearly affirms the position of the Mercer Area School District from the beginning of this case,” said Dr. Rhule, Lakeview School District elementary principal and a Mercer school district board member.

“Mr. Watson was given a fair opportunity for employment,” she said. “He was not the best candidate. Justice has been served.”

Mercer Superintendent Dr. William Gathers, who was Connelly’s assistant when Watson was not hired in 2002, said the district was very happy with the ruling.

“We obviously didn’t discriminate in the past,” he said. “We don’t plan to discriminate in the future. We’re glad to set the record straight.”

Watson issued a statement that did not directly refer to the judge’s decision. He said he was thankful to have had his day in court.

As a school administrator, Connelly said he was “always faced with being fair and just” in personnel decisions, and Watson had no “rationale” for his claims.

“Obviously, after six years, it feels good to have it over with,” Connelly said. “On a personal level, it was insulting to me because of the implication that we had discriminated.”

Connelly also said he regretted that school district taxpayers have to foot part of the bill to defend the suit.

The ruling filed Tuesday by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Francis X. Caiazza, Pittsburgh, followed a two-day trial in January.

School officials testified that Watson had an inside track to one of five elementary teaching positions in the spring of 2002 because he was an in-demand substitute teacher for the district. However, they were disappointed in his interview and found inconsistencies in applications he had submitted.

Watson said he thought the interview went well. He and his wife, Cyndi, said she filled out the applications and he did not review them carefully before they were submitted.