Douglas J. McDonough talks to students after meeting.
Embattled New Hope-Solebury School Board Member Douglas J. McDonough apologized at the beginning of a roller coaster public meeting Monday evening for a Facebook post which drew the ire of local residents. But that apology did not effectively quell the anger of many in attendance, who continued throughout the remainder of the evening to call for his resignation.
As speaker after speaker approached the microphone from the audience, it became obvious that those demanding McDonough resign from the board greatly outnumbered those who agreed that the social media post was unacceptable, but made the case for forgiving his mistake.
Perhaps the most eloquent and moving orators of the evening were the New Hope-Solebury students who bravely strode to the podium and spoke of their feelings of anger and fear, and demanded that the adults in attendance start practicing what they teach.
Separately, Neale Dougherty was named president of the school board Monday Night.
At meeting’s end, the school board agreed to consider extending the district’s anti-bullying policy to their members at a scheduled public meeting on Dec. 19, and several attendees made clear that they would continue holding the school board’s feet to the fire on a controversy that shows no sign of fading quickly.
Hey Slactavist #2 . . . always know when I’ve scored a direct hit, the name-calling begins. I am a dangerous, pathetic Republican with double standards. Can you fit all of that on a safety pin? Did you know “expulsion” is a racist word? I think some community activist or one of his minions said that. Look up “school to prison pipeline” and be careful how you throw that word around. Someone might call you a racist.
I hope that members of the board understand that they are serving the public and not the other way around and they need to respond for their actions. I dont know how they still have their pictures hanged in the school district office under the legend “Our Heroes”. Firefighters, law enforcement agents and even some students and boy scouts from our comunity deserve that title more than this bunch of burocrats.
Slactavist#1 is an Orwellian Fascist and the embodiment of the reason Trump is now President-elect
do not understand why my comment was needs moderation. The comment of the bigot did not
what to do to get rid of this asshole
Yes, keep at this until the snowflakes are no longer afraid of their own shadows. Expelled, Slactavist #1? Really? Isn’t that a little harsh/violent?
Sandra, you mean to tell me that we can expel children from school for bad behavior but that word is too harsh/violent for adults? Another Republican with a dangerous double standard. Pathetic.
Sandra, can you explain the “snowflake” and “buttercup” terms I see coming from Trump fans all over the internet? Is it that you consider things like empathy, civility and compassion as character weaknesses to be exploited and/or overcome?
Charlie, thanks for keeping this relevant. We cannot stop until the bigots and racists are expelled from our society.
I despise bigotry and racism too, but a belief in pluralism and the original United States motto of “E pluribus unum” means that we can’t expel citizens from society simply because we find their views distasteful.