To the editor:

Too many community members take to the microphone at public school board meetings to make statements of misinformation. Some reporters then print those incorrect comments without verifying the truth and accuracy of those falsehoods.

Point of fact: multiple community members participated in the search for the newly elected Pleasant Valley superintendent, even though incorrect comment from uninformed community members claimed that no taxpayers were involved in that selection process.

To set the record straight, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association coordinated the effort to advertise, implement and check all references in this well-organized process with the help of the Pleasant Valley board president and board members.

A community survey was posted on the Pleasant Valley School District website for five weeks (Aug. 24-Sept. 27) with 169 parents and 55 community members participating. Following the search for candidates by PSBA, the board participated in first-round interviews, in second-round interviews and in assisting PSBA in establishing Stakeholder Groups from administration, staff and the community, so that diverse information could be collected, reviewed and discussed.

After evaluating all of this data, hours of deliberations occurred to determine a candidate for election to this position.

The Pleasant Valley Board of Education involved many stakeholders in this process. Vocal community members need to check their facts before finding fault with the process and making false accusations based upon rumor and supposition.

In addition, these same individuals verbally faulted our new superintendent in public, criticizing him for NOT attending the board meeting during which he was elected, only to discover to their embarrassment that he was, in fact, in the audience waiting to be introduced.

I challenge both media and the public to “get your facts straight” before acknowledging anything that is spoken as “truth.” We are all entitled to verified truth, not exaggeration, innuendo and lies. Let’s make this happen.

Donna M. Yozwiak

President

Pleasant Valley Board of Education