I was more than a little surprised to hear that newly elected State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh, has decided to remain a member of the Parkland School Board.

My immediate reaction was that this must be one of those incompatible offices situations addressed in the Statutes of Pennsylvania, but I was wrong. Let me add quickly that even though it is permitted now, legislators should move to close this loophole. There is no good reason for a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to serve simultaneously as a school board member. I’ll even go as far to say that if not a conflict of interest it has the perception of one.

The Parkland district, the largest in Lehigh County with 3,200 students, has confirmed that it has researched the dual-office question and found that Coleman, who will be sworn into the Senate in early January, can legally hold both simultaneously.

Here is what the statute says: “No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under this Commonwealth to which a salary, fee or perquisite is attached.”

Since school board members in Pennsylvania do not receive compensation for their service, Coleman is able to hold both offices. My guess is that when the incompatibility of offices was being debated, little thought was given to the concept of a legislator holding a local school board office.

Also, when this section of the statute was instituted, legislators were paid far less, and most considered it a part-time job. Today, even though legislators can have other jobs, most consider themselves full-time legislators, especially now that the salary for a rank-and-file representative and senator has eclipsed $100,000 a year.

Two other newly elected Lehigh County office-holders have resigned their positions. Joshua Siegel, D-Lehigh, who was elected to serve the 22nd House District, resigned from his Allentown City Council seat on Nov. 30, while Nick Miller, D-Lehigh and Northampton, who becomes senator in the newly created 14th District, resigned as an Allentown School Board member this month.

Coleman was elected to a four-year term on the Parkland board in November 2021 and almost immediately filed suit against the board claiming that it had violated the state’s Sunshine Law by putting a teachers’ contract item on the school board agenda the same day it was voted upon. Most agenda items need at least 24-hour notice to allow residents to attend a meeting to comment on a specific item before passage. Coleman filed another suit against the board relating to the same contract.

A judge disagreed with Coleman’s allegation in the first suit and granted Parkland’s motion for a summary judgment which blocked the lawsuit from going to trial. Coleman later withdrew the second suit.

At a Parkland school board meeting earlier this month, some residents roundly criticized Coleman for taking such extreme actions in filing suits against his colleagues rather than trying to work collaboratively with them. They were critical of what they said was unnecessary costs for the board and taxpayers to defend the suits. They are asking how much the litigation has cost, information that was not immediately forthcoming.

Following the board meeting at which Coleman did not comment, he released a statement saying, “I will never apologize for being a fierce advocate for the people’s right to know what their government is doing.”

In retaining dual offices, Coleman is not the first to do so. According to the York Dispatch, State Rep. Mike Jones, R-York, had been a member of the Dallastown School Board in York County when he was first elected in 2018. He resigned from the school board about nine months later, telling the paper that it was the right thing to do and that it could be a possible conflict of interest.

This is what I think, too. It’s way too messy to hold both offices. Coleman needs to resign from the Parkland board and as a new state senator give his full and undivided attention to his Harrisburg job.

The current controversies have removed some of the sheen from Coleman’s incredible upset primary win over Pat Browne, who had served in the General Assembly for 28 years, 17 of them in the Senate where he served as chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com