Tirade by Joe Dunn sadly typifies group’s overall tenor
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Few jobs on the planet are as thankless as serving on a school board, a duty that routinely subjects members to all manner of vitriol. In fact, when school district operations go smoothly, those folks rarely hear a peep from constituents; so even the good times go unrewarded.
Of course, mourning the lack of gratitude for boom times is not an issue for board members in the Coatesville Area School District: There haven’t been many. History shows one problematic administration after another, going back decades. And it seems that somewhere in that toxic mix, school board members lost sight of their accountability to citizens.
Numerous board decisions in recent weeks have flouted taxpayers’ input – from failing to fire former Superintendent Richard W. Como and former Athletic Director James Donato for a series of racially-charged text messages to purchasing a $2.8 million administration building intended to double as a health-care center. That’s not to say that the board should rubber-stamp public opinion, but it shouldn’t flagrantly ignore it, either.
When hundreds of taxpayers make the same passionate appeal, the board owes them an explanation for disregarding the prevailing sentiment. Not in Coatesville. For the past couple of months, most of the board members have been totally unresponsive – remaining mute at meetings and leaving phone and email messages unanswered.
And the few times when board members have responded, the result has left frustrated taxpayers shaking their heads in disbelief. One such example occurred Tuesday night when a citizen’s remark unhinged outgoing Board Member Joe Dunn.
To be fair, Dunn may have been justified in his anger over an insinuation that he had something to gain by approving the purchase of the Citadel building – even though the board has invited such suspicions by overseeing a regime shrouded in favoritism and secrecy. Still, screaming that the citizen was a coward and a punk for not backing up the accusation when confronted represented a new low in meeting decorum, even for Coatesville.
Outbursts do sometimes occur at public meetings everywhere, but such behavior is generally halted by someone – if not the person running the meeting, then someone near the podium. If the person who blew up doesn’t see fit to apologize, colleagues often do. Not in Coatesville. Instead, exasperated taxpayers were left wondering whether other board members viewed this as acceptable behavior.
And even worse, Dunn wasn’t done with his diatribe. After the meeting, he was interviewed by Kyle Carrozza, a staff writer for The Times, which prompted a rant that extended far beyond Coatesville’s boundaries: Dunn succeeded in disrespecting all members of Carrozza’s arrogant, misguided generation.
Demonstrating a scary, loose-cannon demeanor, Dunn insisted that he was totally justified in his verbal barrage, explaining that the citizen accused him of taking money and then backed off when challenged about his accusation. “You go to rob a bank. You take the money out and you get caught and you try and give it back? That doesn’t work,” Dunn said. “You don’t get to slander me.”
A fiercely unapologetic Dunn scoffed derisively at Carrozza’s question about whether a lower-key approach might have been more appropriate, labeling Carrozza silly and out of his mind for such a suggestions. Did Dunn regret the fact that children were in the audience during his tantrum? “Too bad,” he said. “Education to those kids ought to be: Hey, don’t get up and make unfounded accusations.”
Moreover, Dunn accused the parents who brought them of using the children “as human shields.” He said the adults should have known the meeting would be contentious and must have brought the kids as a form of what he termed “extortion” – an unsuccessful attempt to muzzle him. Besides, he added – mimicking a recalcitrant kindergartner – he didn’t start it. If someone hadn’t accused him of malfeasance, he wouldn’t have lashed out.
“I don’t care about hurting people’s feelings,” Dunn insisted. “Put it in the paper. Let me tell you something … It will say a lot more about you than it says about me.”
I strongly disagree. I think Dunn’s remarks speak volumes about him, and regrettably, by extension, of the entire school board since it enabled his tirade. As Thanksgiving approaches, citizens can be grateful that a board member who served as a turkey is now a lame duck.
Dunn’s conversation at the meeting can be heard here: http://coatesvilletimes.com/Audio/DunnResident111213.mp3.
