Stern retains presidency on Lehighton School Board
Larry Stern retained presidency of the Lehighton Area School District board of directors Wednesday night after a narrow 5-4 vote.
Stern, who was nominated by Rita Spinelli, was up against Joy Beers, who was nominated by Richard Beltz.
Before the vote, Director David Bradley spoke out against Stern, who has been president for the past two years, calling his term, “riddled with turmoil.”
“We need to get back to fidelity and honoring the oath of office,” Bradley said. “Joy has experience. She’s run many organizations in the past on a national level.”
Prior to Bradley speaking, resident Dave Krause asked the board for “continued strong and experienced leadership with more emphasis on meeting decorum and civility.”
“Members of the public have been silenced because one board member monopolizes 90 percent of the meeting,” Krause said. “Who can afford to wait for hours to voice their opinions when people have work and families to take care of. And if they have to time to hang around or speak, they are interrupted and attacked.”
Krause urged the board to elect a leader who would “put an end to personal attacks, name calling, and bullying and harassment of staff.”
Beers touted her own leadership credentials in a pitch for the presidency, saying that Bradley has a history of running off at the mouth.
“There are times I don’t think he should talk as much as he does and I would have cut him off,” Beers told fellow board members. “I have worked with diverse groups that had disagreements and have been able to get everyone together through doing research and finding facts and bringing everyone’s interests forward.”
Stern received votes from himself, Wayne Wentz, Spinelli, Stephen Holland and board newcomer Nathan Foeller.
Voting for Beers were herself, Bradley, Beltz and Gail Maholick.
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Stern said of the result.
An identical 5-4 vote saw Spinelli get the vice president post over Maholick.
Foeller, by a 6-3 vote, was appointed as the board’s representative on the Carbon Career and Technical Institute joint operating committee over Maholick.
Holland was appointed as the alternate to that committee.
Comments
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Where is your plan to better improve the education of our students
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You just dont want people to able to give you actual facts
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
The cronyism appears to be running rampant. Board members with familial relations appear to be blocking lawful transparency. If a director willingly abdicates their authority to the very people they were elected to oversee, I find that an immoral actions of my government.
The government voted to rebuke, censure, sanction. They took action to silence, attack and bare false witness against those seeking basic lawful transparency.
Let's get the public data to the public, review it together, and get this district on track to protect the students and save the community. The financial cliff appears to be eroding underneath the district. With the next big financial shock wave, the contract negotiations, we should at least know what we are buying. This district admitted to authorizing an insurance contract before it had a full copy of the policy. Bad actions of government are unacceptable in a civil society.
Just how concerned of a parent are you? And who are you concerned about? The students?
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
I am concerned that a person who wants transparency only wants his people on the task force
I am concerned you have knowledge of things but you wont tell the citizens
I am concerned that you have no respect for the other members of the board
I am concerned that your vision for the future will ruin this community
I am concerned that the people of this community dont see thru your lack of understanding of what's going on
I am concerned about the people not understanding that you have no morals
We all need to step up and protect the students and save the community.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You can't say in one breath that you don't get the information you need and then the other one you said there there's corruption
How do you know there's corruption if you don't receive the paperwork then you say you don't get
If you want more proof, let's host a meeting. You pick the time and a public place, and I will bring our boxes of proof spanning eight years.
The immorality of those acting as Director including Larry Stern, Andrew Yenser, Rita Spinelli, Wayne Wentz and others are well documented.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You seem to wanna do things behind d closed doors
Why is that
Why cant I see this information you have
Or the video of the meeting you had last sunday
Come on dont be hypocrite
There is an extensive team of individual citizens that research the data and expose the corruption and waste. Many active citizens have children in the district or family members as staff who are restricted from speaking up.
Intimidated parent and citizens allow others without such risks to speak up. That is originally how I got involved to clean up this corrupt and wasteful government agency. The old board silenced friends at the meetings trying to expose lies told by the board and administration.
We are getting closer to a full moral board. Be patient.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You repeat the same crap over and over
What is your solution
What is your solution to better educate our children
The contract negotiations are this year as well. Bring on the morality.
Imagine if we had a transparent district, maybe we would be able to find out why the instructional budget went up about 9% last year alone, yet only 30% the past decade.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
What do you think happened Bradley do you have an opinion
Your punctuation, word usage and grammar reminds me of someone that hates my transparency mission.
Give the self proclaimed Christian business person a chance. Have faith.
Character is found once the political favors take a second seat to moral actions, and the responsibility to honor the oath of office. Patience.
Sincerely,
Daveyboy aka
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Still waiting for the video still waiting for your plan to move this School District forward
And Bradley still doesn't have a specific plan besides transparency to actually improve the tax situation and the education of our children
Be patient. This district is on a financial cliff. They will have to either listen to reason or tax their way out of a total mess created by a decade of miss management.
If we can get the people to review the options, financially documented options, austerity measures would be effortless. Just by removing the corruption and waste this district can issue a tax decrease, stabilizing the consumption.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You want to talk about Christian morality but you don't even know what that means
Morality is coming to Lehighton, face it. I just drew the first line in the sand.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
Reviewing the the bills before payment, that is not a jerk move.
Seeking lawful transparency is not a jerk move. Was it the truthful exposure of Larry's Stern's abdication of authority to his wife's boss that you feel as jerky? As a concerned parent, I question your use of the adjective jerk.
I think a jerk is a politician who voted to raise taxes, or passed an unsustainable budget. A jerk would be a politician that failed to protect the students, or save the community. A jerk would be the politicians that failed to honor their oath, but that is just me.
So, you have your opinion and the adjective jerk has so many applications. I mean really, how many times can you use the adjective jerk to describe Larry, Wayne, Rita, Andy and Steve? I wonder how many times we could use the adjectives immoral, unfair, mean, obstructive and illogical.
That could be an interesting exercise, do you want to give it a try?
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
The fact you say you dont respect people on the board
The fact you dont litsen to the young people who you are supposed to be a role model for
The fact as citizen on the board who demands change and transparency that you dont follow your own code is kinda bs
But please feel free to post your information at anytime I would love to read it
You say screw you I like the fact that the people are acting like idiots
You like the immaturity of bradley
Protecting children is not immoral or immature, actually the opposite.
Honoring the oath of office is not immature or immoral, actually the opposite.
Exposing Rubber Stamping Rita, Larry's wife's boss is Superintendent Cleaver, the actions of 'Unky' Wayne and that our business manager worked for BSI in the past could be seen as ironic. But, that is not immature, or immoral, just strange to me. Where I laugh and use satire, my humor is high brow, not sophomoric.
For instance, I focus on the actions of government that passed a tax raise and unsustainable budget, not the Rita nose pick, or Larry calling audience members the wrong names, or Wayne shamelessly poking at the band's undefeated status. I focus on just the facts.
Transparency
Honor the oath
Check bills before payment
Get a copy of insurance policy before payment. Things like that.
But, you think what you want. I know how to be sophomoric, immature, just choose to use exposure of government to reform government.
Where you may find the exposure of government actions as immature, speak to those taking the action, not the people pleading for reform.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley Sr.
You david are sophomoric and that is why you arent taken seriously
I have said numerous times before you make valid points but it gets drowned out by your stupid personal attacks
When you ask for transparency while trying to start a group of only your cohorts is bs and another reason why your taken seriously
When you try a get a motion passed with out given all the information to the board or public is why you dont get taken seriously
I just believe that your out for yourself interest
I believe you dont care about the education of the kids in these school
I believe you dont have a plan to improve the schools because you dont care
They sit their and he attacks them on a personal level at all times
Bradley hasnt said one word on how he plans on fixing the issue just transparency and that's not a solution
What is his solution
Why hasnt he posted the information he has on facebook or youtube so we can all see it
Why is he not being transparent
How is that personal that's the system how do the board members deserve disrespect and being call a holes but follow the laws
They havent done anything but follow the laws
We are a community and we should act like it
How do you support a man who says he wants transparency when you put people on facebook and blurs their faces
A man who tries to pass a motion and dicieve the public with his stunt with the insurance company
A man who tried to make a committee full of his buddies (isnt that exactly what he has a issue with when it comes to the other side)
I have said numerous times and will continue to he has great points
But he cant be mad at postion he puts himself in
He isnt there to govern he is there to create a ruckus
When he actually comes out with a plan and is transparent and respectful himself it would go a long way
You are mad that she won two seats and the rest of the board used the laws and regulations to vote on someone so you really have no argument there
Because if your side had more people then then their side your side would have voted for someone you liked
Your problem as I tell david all the time is respect goes a long way making fun of people isnt respectful and isnt being the role models you should be for the school district
I do find it interesting that you think the good old boy system is bad but dont speak out against david trying to pass a motion to create a committee with only his people on it
Isnt that creating a environment of good ole boy looking out for David's followers and his followers only
Well again what taxpayers didnt want the school I wanted the school I saw all the benifits and savings of a new stadium
So are you speaking fof your self or all of us