Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Head of Tredyffrin Republicans is now in the T/E School Board race!

The twist and turns of local politics … Replacing Dr. George Anderson (who withdrew from the TE School Board race last week) is the current Chair of the Tredyffrin Township Republican Committee, Neill Kling. Neill sent the following note this morning regarding his candidacy for the TE School Board:

Pattye:
Just a quick note to inform your readers that I have been chosen by our Committeepeople in Region 1 to replace George Anderson as one of the Republican School Board candidates from that region. The decision to run is my own; I have been thinking about doing this for some time now. I run because I believe that I (along with my now running mates Neal Colligan and Ed Sweeney), will complement the excellent stewardship of sitting Board President Kris Graham, while at the same time offering a fresh perspective on the educational and fiscal choices that are vital to keeping the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District both outstanding and affordable. Two of my children are graduates of private high schools, and two are and will be attending Conestoga High School, so I have experience as a parent with public and private education. We should be proud that, at least in our district, public education keeps pace with the many first-class private schools at a fraction of the cost, and that is a testament not only to our wonderful public educators but also to the great parents of our school community. Nevertheless, in the public sphere, we must be mindful that our operating expenses come from all of our taxpayers, whether they use the schools or not, and that our schools are an integral part of our neighborhoods and must be responsive to their needs as well.


Commitment to the best education possible combined with a concern for our taxpayers has been the hallmark of the T/E School District for many years. It is why so many of us have chosen to live and raise our families here. If elected, I will be honored to help continue and, where necessary, improve upon that wonderful legacy.


Best,

Neill Kling

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  1. Dear Mr. Kling,

    Thank-you for your note informing readers that you have been chosen by committee people in Region 1 to replace George Anderson as one of the Republican candidates for the School Board for that region.

    You write above that:

    I believe that I (along with my now running mates Neal Colligan and Ed Sweeney), will complement the excellent stewardship of sitting Board President Kris Graham,

    Am I correct that you are O.K. with School Board President Kris Graham and her support of the $4.5M Maintenance Building which will cost $6M to repay, the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fencing costs (and now add consultant fees to that because she announced recently that she hired another consultant to create another report on it), administrator positions at top of the pay scale salaries, and raises bonuses and promotions for many other administrators? while:

    -effective, valuable programs and services for students (ARCH) are funded primarily through donations from the community.

    -students who compete on different teams share 5+ year old uniforms. I talked to one parent who said the elastic on her daughter’s gym pants were so old and worn out, the elastic waist band had to be held up by a safety pin.

    -the language program was cut right around the time the $1.1M to $3M renovation to the NOC, Network Operations Center was completed. It houses IT equipment.

    A sitting board member was barred from entering important meetings concerning decisions effecting the lives the many district employees. (I heard through the grape vine that Kris herself stood in front of the door blocking the Director from entering)

    I am a registered R, Mr. Kling. I would appreciate a comment.

    Thank-you.

    1. I can guarantee you that the grape vine is wrong, per usual. Also Liz was not “barred”, she was recused (in fact she recused herself i hear) because her daughter was part of the employee group they would be making decisions over. Which is a very normal thing, e.g. a doctor can’t perform surgery on his own family. You keep trying to push this narrative, but it’s patently false, get over it.

      1. This is not the grape vine, its reality. Liz was barred from attending executive sessions under threat of ethical violation. If she attended the ACA informational executive meeting, the Board threatened to have the District solicitor Ken Roos file an ethical violation against her with the PA Dept. of Education. As a result, she contacted a personal attorney to find out her rights. At the time of the ACA information meetings, Liz believed the information shared on the Affordable Care Act should be public information. When Liz walked into the ACA information executive meeting, the Board president stopped the meeting. She decided after speaking with District solicitor to wait outside in the hallway. Liz signed the recusal letter after the vote was taken. Liz was barred from the meeting and took the threat of an ethical violation seriously. I have spoken with Liz and this is what she says happened. If questions remain, Liz asks that you call her at 610.731.5630.

          1. This was the ‘side of the story’ as stated to me from the school board director, Liz M. If you don’t trust my explanation, I suggest that you contact Liz directly.

  2. Thank-you Recused and Thank-you Pattye,

    To be crystal clear, Liz was barred from the meeting because:

    “Liz believed the information shared on the Affordable Care Act should be public information.”

    Not because:

    “she was recused (in fact she recused herself i hear) because her daughter was part of the employee group they would be making decisions over.”

    And when Neal Colligan filed a RTK about getting the notes from the secret meetings, and Art McDonnell denied his request so he appealed to the Office of Open records and the OOR ruled in favor of Neal, that means that Liz was right, that the information in the meetings about the Affordable Care Act should have been made public.

    Is that correct?

  3. Thank-you.

    I trust Liz. What motivation would she have to be untrustworthy? She is not running again. There is no benefit for Liz to be untrustworthy. I believe what she says 100%.

    I’m disappointed she isn’t running again. We need candidates just like Liz. Courageous, and not afraid to stand up and stand alone for what is right. It’s very rare.

    Thank-you Liz.

  4. Also,

    the Board threatened to have the District solicitor Ken Roos file an ethical violation against her with the PA Dept. of Education

    Why didn’t District Solicitor advise the Board that what they were doing had a high probability of being overturned by the Office of Open Records?

    You say, “She decided after speaking with District solicitor to wait outside in the hallway.”

    What did the District Solicitor, Ken Roos, say to her to make her stand out in the hall way? Why did Ken Roos want her to stand out in the hall way?

    Did she sign the recusal letter, because a vote was taken, and all the Directors voted to bar her from the meetings, because she wanted to make the information open to the public?

    Although I’m surprised at the actions of the Board, I’m more surprised at the actions of the Solicitor.

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