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: https://coatesvilletimes.com/Audio/DunnResident111213.mp3.
I agree with Coatesville Resident and Concerned Resident about the meeting. Since September there has been a gross amount of disrepect and defamation from the public. I agree that it’s up to the board president to take control of a meeting when the public or board members lose control. Unfortunately, he represents the district and should have been the better person. He’s gone, but others remain.. But these disingenuous community members who are all screaming about rubber stamping and letting things go on for years, can only blame themselves. If they had a gripe they didn’t bother to attend the meetings and let their voices be heard until September. Go look at the minutes from board meetings from January through August. With the exception of a couple people, public comment was listed as NONE!
I do not agree with the way Dunn reacted at the last meeting, and don’t condone his outburst in any way. The article mentions about what a bad example it is for the children who were present for the meeting. What about the examples the screaming and out of control adults who are in the audience are setting for those children. Ever since the texting, there are people screaming, name calling, slandering etc. This is no way to treat anyone, especially those who are volunteering their time to serve. The public could get their messages across and I’m sure their voices would be heard if they would do it in a more professional manner”.Treat your neighbor as you would want to be treated”
So glad to see him go. It is insulting to the public to watch him make it up as he goes (he must think that he can fool people), but when people speak up, he screams and calls names. He sat back and rubber-stamped Como’s edicts over the years and notice that he had no harsh words for Como… Just like Como, this man is a bully. The health center will not be enough for him to railroad through before he leaves office. Be alert people, attend the meetings and look for more decisions to be railroaded through in the next couple of weeks, including a report of the results of the phony internal investigation, which the taxpayers have to pay for…
You were at the meeting? This article infers you were not, but that another reporter was. Yet, you can spew your rant on Dunn and indict the board. I watched the DLN’s stream for over two hours. I watched people come up to the microphone and belittle the board members and slander them. Glad Dunn took up for himself when the guy called him a thief. Also, what editor resorts to name calling like turkey and lame duck? You did not “drive it home,” but drove it into the gutter with your poor insight and second-hand perception.
I was not at the meeting but watched it, courtesy of 3CTVLive.com. Sadly, I know this was not an isolated incident, having witnessed Joe Dunn fly off the handle previously. We will have to agree to disagree, but having covered dozens of school board meetings in multiple districts over the years, I believe that anyone with such a short fuse does not belong on a school board. And when his colleagues make no effort to encourage some level of civility or to apologize, they are enabling behavior that not only sets a terrible example but also inflames the public even more.
Which sb members have been voted out?
Where was all this outrage when the texting debacle broke? Huh? Huh? Not one of the board spoke up about that! That’s as disgusting, disappointing, disingenuous, & a whole lot of other ‘D’ words as the texts & texters themselves. I only wish voters had been more attentive & careful in their write in votes as many did not count due to improper or incomplete entry by the voter.