To The Editor,
As a voter in WCASD Region 3 and a parent of a severely disabled child, I have watched while Stacey Whomsley has repeatedly used her child’s disability to claim that she represents kids with disabilities. While I disagreed with her on some points, I have always maintained that the Special Needs Family crowd is a big tent with room for many different opinions. But I do think, as a voter, I should be able to question those running for office without being censored or bullied.
I had remained silent while Ms. Whomsley harassed anyone who questioned her for any reason, often weaponizing her child’s disability for personal and political gain while ignoring the concerns of voters she hopes to represent. As administrator of a Facebook parents’ group, she swiftly developed a reputation for shutting down anyone whose opinions differed from her own—often using her position as the mother of a child with special needs to guilt her audience into apologizing for possibly offending her. The group quickly became a bully pulpit ruled with a tyrannical iron fist; a leadership style she then carried onto her campaign page. Question her, and you will receive a swift, insult-laden rebuke. Then you will be deleted or blocked.
I recently broke my silence to ask Ms. Whomsley a question on her campaign Facebook page. Upon learning her position that the relatively simple mask-exemption policy was too burdensome for her—therefore she felt there should be no mask requirements for ANY students— I asked what standards public officials should use to weigh the needs of the community at large against the wants of a small but vocal group of parents. I felt it was only fair to ask her how she believes officials should juggle various constituent groups and their needs when it comes to matters such as masking.
In response, Ms. Whomsley launched an attack on me personally. She accused me of minimizing children with disabilities and insulting families of special needs children. When others defended me, she bullied them as well. When I defended myself, she hid my responses and then deleted them, thus using her page to silence those she claims to represent. This time Ms. Whomsley has picked the wrong person to bully.
As the mom of a severely disabled child in Region 3, I am Ms. Whomsley’s target audience. The fact that she did not already know those things about me is not her fault. However, the fact that she did not care to know those things about me before launching an all-out personal attack is very much her fault.
Ms. Whomsley says her motivation is her child. I understand that; we all want what is best for our children. However, wanting to do what is best for one’s own child is not the job of a school director. A school director must serve all of the children in the district, not only her own.
Parents of children with special needs are aware that what is best for their child might not be best for the student body as a whole. Many of us have other children who do not have special needs, so we see this discrepancy play out within our own families every day. In fact, there are many such parents taking the mask issue to court: in states such as Texas with bans on mask mandates, families of students with special needs are banding together to sue their states for effectively excluding special needs students from public education by rendering schools unsafe for in-person education for the children who need it most.
Within the disability community there is room for dialogue on this issue. In her campaign for the public trust, Ms. Whomsley’s focus on how the rules should benefit her family above the needs of all others is disqualifying, as are her hair-trigger temper and her notoriously aggressive behavior. Additionally, her alliance with a candidate that is well known for her QAnon-promoting Twitter persona shows that, at best, Ms. Whomsley is a terrible judge of character.
Is this the way we think our district should be led? With intimidation, victimhood, and narcissistic authoritarianism? What kind of transparency are we to expect from Stacey Whomsley as a School Director if this is the way she is already treating voters?
As a parent of a disabled child, let me assure you that Stacey Whomsley does not speak for me. Voters should know that Ms. Whomsley does not speak for them, either. Ms. Whomsley has made it clear in all of her public and private actions she serves herself and herself alone.
Laura McNulty Patarcity
East Bradford
Thank you for your eloquent, thought provoking, and clearly heartfelt editorial. You provide a unique perspective and are clearly in the position to question Stacey’s claim to speak for all the disabled students in WCASD. Given she has removed her children from district schools, one has to question Stacey’s commitment to WCASD; does she simply plan to “adjust” the district’s policies to serve the needs of her own children and damn everyone else’s wants and needs? That attitude has been evident throughout the last 1.5 years as she’s had the audacity through her comments and actions to suggest she speaks for everyone just because she is loud and disruptive. Thanks again for your courage to speak your truth and make yourself vulnerable to the characteristically nasty commentary of those who support Stacey, Ada, and Anita, on such a personal subject.
Amazing and enlightening words Laura! Your compassion for your son, the community and your courage to stand up against a candidate who is clearly not fit to serve on the school board is inspiring!
Sounds to me like the bullies are scared of losing their power . This piece is pure gaslighting. Get bent and stop using your children as political pawns. It’s vile.
Vote Stacy!
Your takeaway from a parent of a severely disabled child having been accused by the candidate Stacey Whomsley that this mother didn’t care about students with disabilities is not that Stacey acts in a bullying manner, but that this mother is using her child? By your very definition, Stacey is using her child as a political pawn. The difference being is that Stacey is running for school board, makes claims to be transparent, yet deletes threads, and that potential voters, like this mother, just want to know how Stacey will serve more than just her own children’s needs.
As a parent of a disabled child, Stacey doesn’t speak for me either. I also recognize your name from having made the round in special needs parenting groups. I don’t think a candidate who had to pull out of their own school board race because of making remarks, that you call jokes, painting autism in a negative light is a good endorsement, especially given the nature of this letter.
Stacey Whomsley is wholly unfit for office and does not have my vote.
I couldn’t agree with you more Joe. When those that disagree with the establishment stand-up and speak out, the “we’re all in this together” moral “majority” accuse us of being bullies and unreasonable.
This article has Chris McCune’s fingerprints all over it. I haven’t looked, but I’m sure a similar hit piece on Ms. Edgarian is out there.
I am one of the many that have been banned & blocked for asking Stacey Whomsley a reasonable question. She is a hairtrigger keyboard bully and definitely does not belong on the board with AnonymousAda Nestor.
Those interested in keeping extremist bullies out of WCASD should join this group as well:
https://www.facebook.com/WCASDConstituents/
Very well written. Thank you for this information.
Thank you for this information I am so incredibly tired of these loudmouthed bullies. We need better on our school board.
In addition, she has personally attacked several private citizen through bogus anonymous Facebook pages and websites. She is completely unfit to serve on the school board.