Souderton Area School District School Board Directors look on at November’s board action meeting. (Courtesy of Souderton Area School District)
Public commenters accuse board of trying to stifle incoming new members
The Souderton Area School Board Thursday, November 20 approved on first reading two controversial policies that restrict board members’ communication, meeting participation and access to information, with residents accusing the Republican board of attempting to limit the power of incoming Democratic board members.
Policy 011.1 prohibits board members from disclosing confidential information obtained from administrators or district legal counsel and restricts access to documents and participation in executive sessions for any board members involved in litigation against the district.
Policy 011.2 requires all board communications with district administrators, employees or vendors on district operations, records, services or decision-making to be routed to Superintendent Frank Gallagher.
The policies come less than two weeks before the board’s reorganization meeting, in which newly-elected board members will be seated. The incoming board will feature four new Democratic members, who swept the November election on a campaign to enhance board transparency and accessibility.
One of the newly-elected members, Alexandra Wisser, is currently involved in litigation against the district regarding school officials’ refusal to produce documents pertaining to the district’s association with the Independence Law Center, a Harrisburg-based religious rights law firm that helps school boards write policies.
At Thursday’s meeting, both policies were initially slated for fast-tracked final approval, bypassing the customary first and second readings. But following community opposition, the meeting agenda was amended to approve the policies on first reading.
“I have become aware of complaints in the public that the board is rushing to adopt a policy before the newly elected members are seated,” said board president Stephen Nelson. “In response to this feedback, I directed that the agenda be amended so the policies can be approved as first read tonight instead of a final read. This will allow the policy adoption process to be taken up by the newly constituted board at future meetings.”
Resident opposition
During public comment, residents demanded that the policies be withdrawn entirely, arguing that they are designed to kneecap the incoming board members and thwart the will of the voters.
“You are trying to undermine the will of the voters by tying the hands of board members with restrictions that you have not had previously,” said Elizabeth Shockley. “You are taking your ball and going home because you lost an election.”
“It’s an attempt to control a new school board that no longer blindly follows our suits and asks no questions,” said a female resident. “You are trying to keep your power when this community said very loudly, ‘No, thank you’ to this mess.”
“No matter how you want to put it, the optics and timing are suspicious,” said John Waldenberger. “Why is a policy being introduced now the first meeting after an election and two weeks before new members come in? We need to know why it’s needed now and why it wasn’t a concern any time the last two years.”
Some of the newly-elected board members echoed the community’s sentiments and characterized the policies as inefficient and harmful to students’ quality of education.
“This policy reads like sour grapes over the election results,” said Wisser. “It sends a message that the incumbent majority intends to restrict information and make it harder for new directors to serve the public if this policy is adopted. The real harm will be the day-to-day work of educating our students.”
“If every communication is required to go through the superintendent, it will prolong decision-making and waste taxpayer dollars,” said Corinne DeGeiso. “The board of directors is elected to provide oversight of the superintendent and not the other way around. It must be designed to silence those who were elected by more than 8,000 members of this community.”
Board vote
Following public comment, the board unanimously approved a first reading vote of both policies with little discussion. Board member Kim Wheeler briefly suggested amending policy 0.12, heeding community concerns about routing all communication through Superintendent Gallagher.
“While I do respect the chain of command, I do think in some ways it could be detrimental to some of the things that we do,” said Wheeler. “Maybe it should be reworded.”
Nelson responded that the board will continue to evaluate the policy in future committee meetings.
Board member Janet Flisak, who lost the election, defended policy 0.11, stating that it is designed to prevent Wisser from having an “advantage” in her lawsuit.
“If you were in a situation where you’re a plaintiff suing the district, wouldn’t you love to be on the deliberation of the defendant? That gives you ultimate leverage,” said Flisak. “Miss Wisser is suing the district, and she would be at a superior advantage sitting at the board and hearing what the district has to say.”
In the final public comment period, Wisser took the opportunity to clarify that she filed the lawsuit in the fall of 2023 after the district denied her right-to-know request and subsequently produced heavily redacted emails when the Office of Open Records granted her appeal. She added that her attempts to settle the lawsuit and schedule a trial date have been denied. She concluded by reiterating the Democratic candidates’ intentions.
“We ran because we have children in this district and who have gone through the district. We are not here so I can get some kind of legal background information,” said Wisser. “We are here for the kids, and it’s very insulting to have that thrown back at us. We would not be here if it were not for the kids.”
The next Souderton School Board meeting is on December 18 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit soudertonsd.org
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