Groups marched in protest, spoke pointedly at committee meetings
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Acting Assistant Superintendent Teresa Powell reads from a timeline that she says shows that some school board members wanted to cover up the text-message scandal.
CALN – Between a protest march to the school board committee meetings and lengthy public comment sessions at the meetings, Coatesville residents continued to voice their displeasure at the school district’s recent actions for nearly six hours on Tuesday.
“Coatesville Pride is alive!” and “The school board must go!” residents chanted as they marched at 4 p.m. from Ash Park to the 6 p.m. committee meetings at the 9/10 Center.
“We want our voices to be heard. We want everything we have to say to be taken into consideration and not be dealt with and settled behind closed doors prior to us speaking,” said Linda Lavender Norris.
During nearly four hours of public comment, a crowd of about 200 expressed dissatisfaction with the board’s handling of the sexist, racist text-messaging scandal involving former Superintendent Richard Como and former Athletic Director James Donato. One even called for the FBI to investigate the district
“If they bring the FBI in, you won’t be happy with that. You’ll say they’re racist,” Board Member Joe Dunn responded.
Coatesville Area Teachers Association President Audra Ritter called for “necessary and immediate action” to the district’s budget, which has cut supplies and extracurricular activities, furloughed teachers, and frozen teacher contracts in recent years while continuing to hire administrators at high salaries. “Hire some teachers. Replace textbooks. Get new technology,” Ritter urged.
Resident Stephen Bové said that at a recent workshop he attended on power and privilege, the Coatesville Area School Board was used as an example of the negative effects of power. “You’ve been very outspoken, and I appreciate that,” he said to Dunn. “But you’re turning it back on everybody who comes here this evening and making them think it’s their problem and not yours.”
Dunn said that the people who have only recently showed up to school board meetings are cheating the kids. He also lamented that on many decisions, such as whether to raise taxes, there is no winning for the school board. “I’m leaving in six weeks, and I cannot wait,” he said, referring to the end of his term in November.
In light of the recent events, Jonette Marcus, a district supervisor of English language arts, said she was motivated to let the board know that for the past few years, she has not felt comfortable in her work environment at the Benner building. “No one understands what we’re going through as employees of the school district,” she said. “There is such a lack of respect where I work.” She asked the board to ensure that an environment where no one is afraid to speak be fostered in the district.
Resident Stu Deets questioned the district’s decision to pay Como for his accumulated leave time before last month’s vote to accept his resignation. “Over 1,000 of us sat here and talked for three hours trying to convince you not to let him resign. That fate was already determined because you’d already paid him out the week before,” said Deets.
Dunn responded that the decision “was monetary” and that allowing Como to resign was cheaper than potentially having to pay the remainder of his contract. Dunn said he found the messages “disgusting and immoral” but opted not to gamble with district funds. “Yes, it made sense to accept the resignation,” he said. “It’s not my money. I can’t get emotional with your money.”
Some residents raised concern over alleged sexual text messages sent by administrators that referred to female students in the district. After resident Victoria Jeter asked Acting Superintendent Angelo Romaniello if he had ever received sexual text messages referring to students, Romaniello told her that he could not recall, she said. “I expected to hear a straight ‘no.’ He could not say that,” she said.
Also at Tuesday’s meetings, Acting Assistant Superintendent Dr. Teresa Powell accused Romaniello of being involved in inappropriate texting with Como and Donato. “Although his text is not racial, it is demeaning,” Powell said, referring to a message in which Romaniello makes a disparaging remark about Powell’s weight. She said that Como sent a text to Donato referring to her as “silver back n****r Powell,” which Donato then forwarded to Romaniello. In the copy of the texts obtained by The Times,the n-word does not appear in that particular exchange.
Powell also accused the board of trying to cover up the messages, saying that she notified Board Member Tonya Thames Taylor of the messages on Aug. 16 and met with Taylor and solicitor James Ellison the following day. According to Powell, Ellison and Taylor met with Board President Neil Campbell, Vice President Rick Ritter, Board Member Dunn, and Como the following Monday, where, despite Como’s admission to sending the texts, they planned on allowing him to continue as superintendent.
Powell said that the other school board members would never have found out if she had not sent anonymous letters to all the board members that week. The decision to allow Como to continue as superintendent also provoked District Director of Technology Abdallah Hawa to send 104 pages of text transcripts to the district attorney, she said.
Taylor has disputed Powell’s claims, claiming that she and other board members worked as quickly as possible to respond to the disturbing texts and that permitting Como to remain in his position was never an option. Taylor said Powell made it clear from the beginning that she was interested in becoming superintendent but insisted on anonymity as the source of the offending texts. Powell’s actions since identifying herself at the Sept. 24 board meeting suggest that “she is motivated by that ambition,” Taylor said.
Tuesday night’s allegations come after the district signed a proclamation against discrimination in schools.
At 4 p.m. in the library, Board Members Taylor and Brownfield and Student School Board Representative Paul Draper met with representatives from the Pennsylvania NAACP, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and the Coatesville Ministers Alliance to sign a proclamation against discrimination.
“WHEREAS, the Coatesville Area School District subscribes to the fundamental conviction that all persons are entitled to equal protection, equal opportunity, and the enjoyment of civil rights,” the proclamation read.
