District residents continued their protest against board director Bill Formica at September 11 school board committee meetings.
Holding signs that read “We can do better” and “Resign Now Formica” and wearing red “Souderton Deserves Better, Character Counts” shirts, Souderton Area School District residents continued their protest against board director Bill Formica at September 11 school board committee meetings.
Residents were barred from commenting on Formica due to committee meeting rules restricting public comments to agenda items, said resident Richard Detweiler in a press release.
“Board Vice-President Steve Nelson opened the meeting session with a stern warning that anyone who so much as raised their hand to ask a question about anything not related to the established agenda would immediately be removed from the room by the police,” wrote Detweiler.
The protest follows nearly two months of community outrage over a string of objectionable social media posts by school board member Bill Formica, including one that accused Vice President Kamala Harris of engaging in sex acts to advance her career.
At the August 29 board action meeting, more than 500 people turned out to make their voices heard. The board, however, limited the comment section to 90 minutes, denying many residents the opportunity to speak.
Before the September 11 committee meetings, Formica’s opponents stood along the roadside with banners, yard signs, and large posters displaying some of Formica’s social media comments.
“They were forbidden to meet on school district property, because, in the words of one administrator, ‘That’s not what the (district owned) grass is for,'” said Detweiler.
In addition, meeting attendees were met with a new greeting protocol at the building entrance, including three armed, uniformed Souderton Area School District police officers who required photo ID before entering the building.
Following the meeting, board president Ken Keith said that there was “no plan” to call on the residents who were unable to speak at the August 29 meeting.
Moving forward, the Save Souderton Coalition and others will be encouraging the community to attend the September 26 board action meeting to continue to express their dissatisfaction with Formica and the board’s handling of the matter.
“There is also growing dissatisfaction with the rest of the board’s consistent refusal to respond with anything other than silence to the large number of people in the community who question Mr. Formica’s suitability to sit on our board of school directors and serve as a role model for students, teachers, adults, and children in our district,” wrote Detweiler.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that meeting attendees were met by Souderton police officers at the building entrance. No Souderton police officers were present at the meeting.
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