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Oley Valley School Board member resigns over political polarization

An Oley Valley School Board member is giving up her seat, saying the insertion of partisan politics into education led to her decision.

“I can no longer remain on a board that has no trust for one another and who continue to let political and petty biases in fact dominate their thinking instead of thinking what is best for the children of the Oley Valley,” Mary Lou Parry said at the board meeting Wednesday night.

Parry went on to say that serving on the board has been an honor but she can no longer do so. She resigned effective at the end of the meeting.

“My health and heart has been compromised by decisions that have been made here,” she said as she explained her decision.

Parry, a retired educator who taught kindergarten and first grade in the district for four decades, joined the board in 2020. This year was the last of her four-year term, and she was not running for reelection.

Mary Lou Parry reads to children at 2012 Oley Valley Community Fair.
Mary Lou Parry reads to children at the Oley Valley Community Fair in 2012. (READING EAGLE)

In a phone interview Thursday morning, Parry expanded a bit on her decision to leave the board early.

“I’m not a political person, and I don’t think that school boards should be political,” she said. “And I think that’s what’s happening. People are running who have entirely different agendas than educating kids.”

Parry said she has been uncomfortable with several issues that have come up at school board meetings over the past two years, including banning certain books and hiring armed guards for schools.

“We’re seriously talking about having teachers be able to carry guns,” Parry said. “That’s the thing that put me over the edge.”

Parry also said the district’s search for a new superintendent was intense.

“There were petty biases and political things going on,” she said. “I didn’t like the decisions being made.”

Parry said she still plans on keeping an eye on what’s going on in the district by watching board meetings online. She won’t attend in person.

“They’re just too hard on my health,” she said.

She also plans to stump for school board candidates she believes are running for the right reasons.

“I will be standing at the polls on voting day and handing out information on the people who I think should be on the board, who want to be on the board for education and are not there for political reasons,” she said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, board President David Pollock Jr. said he was sorry to hear Parry was resigning but added that he respects her wishes to do so.

Pollock could not immediately be reached Thursday for further comment.

No other board members commented at the meeting on Parry’s resignation.


Source: Berkshire mont

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