School board director calls out borough council for disparaging remarks

At last night's Columbia Borough School Board meeting, School Board Director Kathleen Hohenadel responded to recent public remarks by borough council members criticizing the school district.

Hohenadel said she was disheartened by the comments from council members, which she described as "an abuse of their public position." Hohenadel challenged council to reinstate combined meetings with the school board and work together to find solutions.

The last joint meeting between council and the school board was in the spring of 2021. In October of that year, Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz wrote a scathing letter to LNP critical of the board. Several council members have since made public comments criticizing the board.

Here's the text of Hohenadel's statement:

"I was disheartened by the comments made by members of Borough Council at a recent public meeting. Their swipes and jabs at the School District were not productive, did not foster good working relations, and were an abuse of their public position.

I challenge the members of Borough Council to reinstate the combined meetings of these two governmental bodies. Even though we both represent the same constituents, Council members decided those meetings were not productive. Yet, the very issues they grandstanded about could have some solutions that take a partnership of these two entities. It is easy to make derogatory comments about a group of people when you aren't looking them in the face. I propose the much more difficult route of sitting down together to find solutions, of working collaboratively without the bluster and political positioning."