Pleasant Valley School Board reorganizes for 2019

Pleasant Valley directors once again took sides during the reorganization meeting Thursday night as they voted to replace Len Peeters with Susan Kresge for the president’s position.

In a roll-call vote Peeters was supported by directors Donna Yozwiak, Laura Jecker and Delbert Zacharias. Russ Gould, Ken Cocuzzo, Dan Wunder and Robert Serfass voted with Kresge.

Yozwiak was elected vice president, defeating Dan Wunder in a 5-4 vote. Cocuzzo was the swing vote.

Cocuzzo later said that he recognized there are “two respective sides” on the board, and he felt that the best was to have effective governance for both sides to be represented in the leadership positions on the board.

Before the vote, two residents told the board that Peeters was the best choice to help the district move on from the scandal which has led a grand jury to recommend charges against former superintendent and two other administrators.

Former Superintendent Carole Geary and Assistant to the Superintendent Christopher Fisher have retired.

Joshua Krebs had been on leave since being charged with felonies related to the wiretap case. On Thursday the board approved a retirement buyout for Krebs.

Malcolm McKinsey, a sixth-grade science teacher at Pleasant Valley Intermediate and a Polk Township resident, said Peeters has demonstrated he can lead the district forward and follow the recommendations put forth by the grand jury which investigated the administrators’ alleged cronyism, intimidation and retaliation.

“Anyone who cares about this community’s children will surely shudder to read the litany of issues raised in the two documents released by the Monroe County District Attorney’s office,” said McKinsey, an officer in the teachers union. “Fortunately Mr. Peeters has understood, perhaps far more than some assembled here tonight the gravity of this problem.”

McKinsey added that Peeters has worked to heal the wounds and mend the rifts between the administration and teachers.

Another resident thanked Peeters for taking a more transparent approach during his time as board president, saying that allowing board members to ask questions was far healthier than hiding the decision-making process.

After the vote, Kresge said that she was looking forward to continuing the direction that the board had taken in the past year.

Peeters expressed his disappointment in the decision.

“I am disappointed, and the public should be as well,” Peeters said. “I believe that we will be going back to the way that it was and not moving forward.”

Kristin Wolf, an elementary teacher in the district, addressed the board after the vote.

“I rise up to thank the board,” Wolf said. “You have sent a very strong message. You have shown your true colors.

“I want to thank you for letting me know where you stand, and it is not with our students or the staff of the district. You stand for the same corruption and cronyism. You have chosen to put the same people into power who let us get into the situation. Thank you for lifting the veil and showing who you really are.”