Public voices dismay as James Hills beats out Robert Beckershoff, 5-3
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
James Hills takes his oath to fill the vacant school board seat. “The children are my biggest passion,” said the mentor and retired state police corporal.
CALN – The Coatesville Area School District Board of Education voted in James Hills to take the vacant school board seat during a special meeting Saturday afternoon.
Hills, a retired state police corporal, works as a mentor with the Backing Our Young Sons (BOYS) and Giving Girls Guidance (G3) programs. As a mentor, he said that he spends many of his days volunteering at various schools in the district, where he interacts with students, teachers, and administrators on a regular basis.
“Our kids deserve an education that will compete against any other education in the nation,” he said during public comment before the vote was taken.
In the 5-3 decision, Diane Brownfield, Neil Campbell, Jim Fox, Laurie Knecht, and Rick Ritter voted for Hills while Stu Deets, Kim Mammel, and Deborah Thompson voted for Robert Beckershoff, the candidate who finished second in District 1 during November’s elections.
Hills said that he is an independent thinker who will not make decisions that are influenced by other school board members. “I talk with the principals, I talk with the school teachers, I’m working with the kids now, one to four days a week,” he said. Between Tuesday night’s original vote and Saturday, he said he spoke to two board members who wanted to know more about him.
He also said that the ongoing conflicts between the residents and the board have caused him to avoid school board meetings for the past few months. “I knew with all this tension going on it wasn’t something that I wanted to be a part of,” he said.
Many of the residents in attendance voiced support for Beckershoff before the vote and disappointment in the board’s subsequent decision.
“The people have talked. The people have listened to you. I do not understand why you refuse to listen,” said Alain Foster.
Fonz Newsuan said that the board should have considered the results of November’s voting as the voice of the residents. “Our vote is the only way we can tell people what it is we want,” he said.
After the vote, many people were not shy in expressing their disapproval with one audience member calling Hills “another puppet” and the board members “cowards.”
“I pray that you’re not influenced by anybody on the board and you do the right thing for the people,” Linda Lavender Norris said to Hills during the second public comment session. She then asked the board, “Do you consider the people at all when you’re making your decisions?”
Jane Ventrilla said that decisions like Saturday’s are the reason that many people do not come to school board meetings. “It’s like coming here and banging your head against the wall,” she said.
Brownfield, who voted for Beckershoff on Tuesday but then switched her vote to Hills on Saturday, said that she was prepared for the public’s displeasure. “I knew what the decision would mean today. I knew what would happen,” she said. Stating that she changed her mind without the influence of any other board members, Brownfield noted that Hills has turned students around with discipline.
Confronted by residents after the meeting, Knecht said that she understood that the public wanted Beckershoff, but she thought Hills was a better fit. “You don’t know all of the factors,” she told residents. “I wanted to give us someone who would give us someone similar to what Paul Johnson did.”
Knecht, who talked to Hills on the phone between Tuesday and Saturday, said that his experience in law enforcement could help clean up the district. She said that on Tuesday, she was not sure whom she was going to vote for, but after seeing Beckershoff at candidate forums, she decided that he was not the right person for the job. Once other board members abstained, she opted to follow suit.
“It was done alphabetically [the vote], and I was not going to vote for Beckershoff, and I saw what the others were doing,” she said. “They said ‘abstain’, so I said ‘abstain.’”
She also said that between Tuesday and Saturday, some of the board members “talked a little bit to see who was where.”
Midway through the meeting, in response to a comment by Newsuan, Board Members Campbell, Thompson and Brownfield all apologized for the behavior of former Board Member Joe Dunn, who made derisive comments to a resident at a meeting in November.
“I, too, recognize that was a very bad time for this board, and I do apologize,” said Campbell, the board’s president.
Thompson said that she values public comment, and residents should be allowed to call out board members’ wrongdoings. “I will not be offended; I should be accountable for my actions,” she said.
Brownfield agreed, saying that anyone should be able to say what they need to say during their three minutes of public comment.
Anthony Taylor, husband of former Board Member Tonya Thames Taylor, addressed some of the accusations of nepotism made at Tuesday’s meeting. On Tuesday, Greg Wynn and Thompson both said they had evidence suggesting that Tonya Thames Taylor worked with former Superintendent Richard Como to get Taylor’s relatives hired.
During public comment on Saturday, Anthony Taylor said that it was “merely a coincidence” that his family members were hired, pointing out that none of them were blood relatives of his wife. He also said that his wife knew nothing of the website agreement between his company and the district.
Let’s be frank about the James Hill appointment, he is nothing more than a puppet and/or pawn for the current Solicitor Ellison and President Neil Campbell (again, a GOP on paper only).
Let’s also be clear, if you are ANY of the following, the CASD does NOT have your best interests at heart:
1) Tax paying property owner in the CASD;
2) Employed Full-Time;
3) Actual children attending the CASD;
4) Married;
5) College educated;
6) Business owner;
7) Voter
8) Live in Valley, East-Fallowfield, Caln, or Thorndale (i.e. ANYWHERE outside Coatesville);
9) Advocate for transparency and accountability; and
10) Improvement if CASD School performance on the Keystone Exams;
This is clearly the message the current CASB is sending to individuals, whether intentional or not.
I think it would be a good idea to defeat campbell & knecht in their local gop bids this spring. I think the earlier poster is correct that getting on the ballot requires filing by march 11th.
I can sympathize with jim pitch post re: gop. Isn’t the supposedly independent law firm campbell & knect hired to investigate the scadal also the firm of alan novak former county & state gop chairman & current gop uber lobbyist. Lots of curious relationships here. Was como pals with novak? Or is that just trash talk rumor
Well according to the county real estate website (which doesn’t lie) Mr. Hills does not own a property in Coatesville area, must be one of the many renters. Guess he won’t be affected by any tax increase.
Help from the Republican Party? Really?
Past CCRC Area 14 Chairmen include John Birch Society Charter Member (& reader of Jared Taylor’s “American Renaissance”) Pat Sellers and Richard Legree.
This is from a 1976 Daily Local News article by Bruce Mowday:
Richard “Stretch” Legree of Coatesville, named as the number one drug pusher in Chester County by District Attorney William H. Lamb, was convicted last night of selling 145 bags of heroin to an undercover agent in January.”
Sellers was also a CASD board member.
The childish like behavior at these board meetings that the citizens are showing must stop, if they want things to move forward. They need to give James Hills a chance. They are always trying to find the negative in every situation possible. Instead of a warm welcome, they wanted to know if he was a resident of Region1….they want to find anything negative on him, just because they are not happy that their friend did not get the position. How immature! They need to let school board members do their job. They have done nothing wrong! It was Como and Donato. Some of these citizens should be banned from public board meetings. If the board member said that the sky was blue, they would argue that!!
The reason why public outrage continues is multifaceted:
1. Every time a request is made for information, it is met with either silence or an extreme extension of the “right to know” process. Investigate this- you will find it to be true.
2. Every time simple questions are asked, the board continues to follow their “we don’t address the public” policy. So, how does the public get information about how taxpayer money is being spent? Then members like Laurie defend their decisions by saying things like- the public doesn’t have all the information. QUESTION: Why don’t we have all the information?
3. While some matters need to be discussed in executive session, the current board takes many (illegal) liberties with this. You don’t even need to investigate. Laurie herself admitted that board members spoke with each other in between meetings about the candidates. It’s not supposed to happen that way. Educate yourself. I started that process back in September and it’s been very enlightening.
4. I hope and pray that Mr. Hills is a man of true integrity. I certainly am impressed with his efforts within our schools- they provide some evidence that he could be a true asset to the current board. However, then he makes statements about how he avoided school board meetings due to controversy and was surprised as the crowd’s reaction on Saturday. If he had his finger on the pulse of this community, he would understand. Avoiding a problem doesn’t make it go away. That’s why it seems like he came out of no where…even though he has obviously had community involvement for years. He needs to be prepared for the situation that “old guard” on the board has helped to create.
5. I completely agree that the dynamic between the board members and the public needs to change. So please, ask the board members who represent you to give us a sign. You may be content to “wait and see”.
6. I pay taxes and have young children attending school in this district. I want to have open communication about is going on. Until the board as a whole presents a plan for change in how they communicate agenda items and school issues with this community, this pattern of mutual hostility will continue.
7. I truly feel for Mr. Hills at this point- I don’t know if he realizes what he has gotten himself into. I hope he remains an independent thinker. He was questioned because that’s the type of environment the citizens of this district have come to expect…we have to ask questions and not just assume that all is well.
8. I think you make a bold statement in assuming that no one on the school board has done anything wrong. At the very least, you must not be familiar with the events of August and September 2013.
Do your homework before you criticize or you risk having the wool remain over your eyes as well.
The individual committeepeople of each party hold tremendous power with their endorsements in School Board and other races. Outraged? Call the political committees.They represent you. Both parties have facebook pages where you can post your outrage.
Democrats phone 610-692-5811
http://chescodems.org/?page_id=88
Republicans phone 610-696-1842
http://Www.republicanccc.com
Committee list at
http://Republicanccc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=27
Republicans have opportunities in May primary as Knecht & Campbell will likely seek reelection as precinct committee 15 signatures deadline March 11 puts an opponent on ballot.
Campbell may seek reelection to Republican State Committee for the larger region.
See info on how to run in the posts at
https://coatesvilletimes.com/?p=9966
Keep in mind that other than bad apples Knecht & campbell many of the other committee members may be on your side. If so enlist their help
As I have stated numerous times, the corruption in this district runs deep. This is yet another example of how big the problem is. Neil Campbell and his cronies on the board go pluck someone off the street, who never had anything to do with the election process, never was heard of prior to Saturday, and place him on the board of a school district in crisis. This is political theatre at its best. I predicted Tonya Taylor would be named in this position. They couldn’t make that happen so this was their next choice.
As someone who not only graduated from here, but educates here as well, I am at a loss why we let this go on. It is time for a taxpayer uprising. When is enough, enough?
It goes beyond board members having family hired, which is the case for many of them. It goes beyond Tonya Taylor and the NAACP halting the firing process of inept, failing teachers who were on their way out. This board is being investigated by a grand jury! How are they fit to lead this district any longer? I am asking everyone to demand any kind of legal maneuver that will remove the current cancer from this district. Neil Cambell, Ritter, and Knect.
Campbell, Ritter, Knecht, Fox and Brownstain (traitor) should be ashamed of themselves. They talk about their vote being for the kids, but that is complete BS. This vote was all about keeping their majority on the board so they can continue with the status quo.
Good Luck to the school board with their choice for a new member. I know Jim, he can be difficult to deal with. Time will tell.
Yes; as unfortunate–which is to say extremely–as it was that the board members didn’t listen to the public, from speaking with Hills a couple of times and covering the BOYS/G3 program last summer, he seems like a pretty good dude. We’ll have to wait to see how the pressures of being in the spotlight during stressful times get to him, but I’m not convinced he’s some kind of crony like people seem to assume he is.
I really hope you are right about Mr. Hills. I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect to him or his reputation with my comments. I hope he watches the recordings of the board meetings from August-present. Or else I hope that he reaches out to the adults in the community. Maybe then he will understand why things are so heated. Maybe then he can work with some of the other new board members and become the catalyst for real change. I want to be optimistic but I’m just not 100% there yet!